Concluding a Youth Exchange: 36 Digital Citizens Take Action in Slovakia

30-08-2026

Digital Citizens in Action:
Co-creating #EDCEWeek26

Uniting 36 young minds from 7 countries to shape digital democracy

Between 23-30 August 2026, 36 dedicated participants from 7 European countries gathered in the village of Herlany, Slovakia, for a focused initiative on digital citizenship.

The PRISMA European Network collaborated with a strong consortium of partners to implement this Youth Exchange, bringing together representatives from GEYC (Romania), Youth for Youth (Slovakia), EuroMuevete (Spain), Growth Hub (Greece), Dynamic Youth Association (Hungary), Tavo Europa (Lithuania), and EUActive (Austria).

Our objectives

The primary aim of the project was to equip young leaders with the skills necessary to navigate and positively influence the digital space. The core objectives included:

  • Tackling disinformation: understanding the mechanisms behind fake news and learning to counter it through critical media literacy.
  • Promoting digital citizenship: ensuring youth comprehend their online rights, responsibilities, and the growing influence of artificial intelligence.
  • Fostering co-creation: guiding participants through a transition from passive learners to active facilitators capable of organizing impactful community events.

Highlights of the week

The mobility relied heavily on non-formal education methods, ensuring that learning was both practical and engaging. Some of the main activities included:

  • Digital reality checks: national teams analyzed Eurostat data, examined viral fake news cases from their home countries, and critically assessed their governments' current digital policies.
  • Defending digital freedom: drawing from the Council of Europe’s Bookmarks manual, teams reviewed complex case studies on online hate speech, debating solutions and voting on ethical outcomes.
  • Content creation labs: working in intercultural groups, participants brainstormed, filmed, and edited short-form video campaigns, later utilizing Canva to design educational carousels.
  • Developing organizational skills: participants took the lead by practicing public speaking and facilitation, ultimately pitching their own local event plans and navigating surprise crisis-management scenarios to build resilience.
  • Rural digital detox: to balance the intensive screen-based work, the group participated in a hike through rural Slovakia, offering a space for cultural exchange and mental recovery.
Activity Photo
Activity Photo
Workshop Action
Group Farewell

Project outcomes

The mobility resulted in concrete outcomes for the participants. Over the course of the week, the 36 young people developed Youthpass competencies, project management skills, and a portfolio of multimedia campaigns designed to combat disinformation.
They arrived as participants and left as capable event organizers.

Highlights from the ground:


What is next? Get ready for #EDCEWeek26

The Youth Exchange was just the beginning.
The event plans our PRISMA Ambassadors developed in Slovakia are now being put into action across Europe.

The mobility was implemented within GEYC’s Erasmus+ accreditation under project reference 2026-1-RO01-KA151-YOU-000390817.