In 2026-2028, under the goal of enhancing the youth work environment, the Youth Partnership will contribute to the professional development of youth workers, supporting and empowering young people, and addressing new challenges and emerging topics.

This will build on the specific nature of this co-operation programme between the European Commission and the Council of Europe, grounded in youth research, bridging research and practice, and situated at the intersection of both institutions’ strategies and political agendas.

 Objectives of the seminar 

The seminar explored the role of youth work in empowering young people to think critically, understand, challenge, and engage meaningfully in the digital era. As technology, digitalisation, and artificial intelligence (AI) have become integral to young people’s lives – offering both opportunities and risks – the seminar reinforced the democratic foundations of youth work as a socio-political practice that fosters democratic and critical citizenship.

The seminar drew on existing research, as well as on recent studies conducted by the Youth Partnership, including:

• Youth Work and TECHLASH: What Are the New Challenges of Digitalisation for Young People? (2022)
• Young people’s participation in AI governance and implementation (2023)
• Insights into Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact on the Youth Sector (2024)

It aligned with relevant initiatives of the two partner institutions, among others the EU Preparedness Strategy and the latest development for protecting democracy (in particular the Democracy Shield and considerations regarding the Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI)  and disinformation), and with the Council of Europe’s New Democratic Pact for Europe, and its pillar Learning and Practising Democracy, which emphasises equipping young people with the skills, attitudes and critical thinking necessary for active citizenship. The outcomes of the seminar feed into the development of the future EU youth strategy and the new generation of the EU youth programmes. Complementarity with the initiatives of the Council of Europe’s Youth Department were also ensured, with special respect to digital citizenship and artificial intelligence and youth work.

 The aim of the seminar 

This event brought work practitioners, media, digitalisation and AI experts, youth organisations and youth centres with experience or interest in critical thinking with young people.

The seminar aimed at creating space for an exchange and capacity building about role of youth work and youth organisations in empowering young people to think critically, understand, challenge, and engage meaningfully in the digital era. It included an informative background reader and two keynote speakers, participant-led workshops on their initiatives and tools and resources from the Youth Partnership on related topics. The 55 participant exchanged about the youth worker needs, challenges and resources and tools that have been developed to tackle how AI, digital platforms and tools impact young people’s critical thinking and how youth workers can build their expertise to support them.