Speech at the closing conference of the European Year of Digital Citizenship, Ljubljana

Dear Minister, dear participants,

There is only one thing better than a very, very well prepared and interesting conference, and that is a very, very well prepared and interesting conference in Ljubljana. Believe me, I am very objective about that. I am from Ljubljana myself.

Welcome to this closing conference of the 2025 European Year of Digital Citizenship, so kindly hosted by Slovenia. I would like to thank the Slovenian team of the Recovery and Resilience Plan project »Strengthening Digital Citizenship in Slovenian Educational Institutions«, supported by the Slovenian Ministry of Education, for their hard work in preparing this conference and for their contribution to the European Year of Digital Citizenship Education.

In 1966, the German philosopher, cultural and music critic Theodor Adorno had a radio program. I guess it was a podcast before podcasts. And in that famous radio program, he said that the premier demand upon all education is that Auschwitz should not happen again. I believe in 1966 that was understandable; it was only 20 years after the 27th of January 1945, when the Allied forces liberated Auschwitz.

So the first question would really be whether Adorno today would have said the same thing. Would he not? Would we, if he did, call him a drama queen and say he exaggerates? I’m not so sure.

The second question is whether, if he reflected upon the role of education today, the unprecedented technical development—digital, and especially artificial intelligence—would have an impact on his views.

We can be certain that in 1966, digital technology was not high on his mind. In fact, it was just a year after IBM produced its System 360—a revolution at the time, but the size of a concert piano. I Googled it: it was in order of millions slower than my iPhone 15. Imagine watching a TikTok video on that or trying to download an app.

That difference in magnitude is not just symbolic; it really reflects the difference between 1966 and today. In the world we live in, good things can happen faster and go further—but bad things, too. Not because technology itself is good or bad. Technology is value-neutral, but people often are not. Even with all our technological development and the unthinkable progress of AI, we are still talking about human-to-human interaction through and with technology. That’s why fostering human agency is so important. That’s why education is crucial, including—and especially so—that Auschwitz does not happen again.

Now, if I can go back to the origins of this European Year of Digital Citizenship that brought us to this conference: The Council of Europe started to work on these matters a few years earlier, but it was in November 2019—just before the COVID pandemic—when the French presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers organized a conference of Ministers of Education in Paris. At that conference, we were asked to provide the keynote speaker. I think at the time we got as subversive as bureaucrats ever do: we invited the director and president of the Linz Ars Electronica Festival, Gerfried Stocker. Gerfried of course came to the ministerial conference in his crumpled t-shirt and ponytail, and his speech mesmerized the ministers.

If I may sum up what he said: for successful digital citizenship education, you need four ingredients.

First, you have to teach learners to understand the infrastructure of digital technology and especially AI—not just how to use it, but to understand it; to know what’s in the box. This is necessary to benefit fully from its potential and to protect yourself so it can’t be misused against you.

Understanding its human and environmental costs as well—use it responsibly. I often think that one short sentence or question— “Grok, is this true?” which peppers through everyone’s Twitter feed—probably has a higher carbon imprint than all airline companies together. Don’t believe me? If you’re checking this with Grok now, you are complicit in this environmental recklessness.

Second, and this leads us to competencies for democratic culture: values, attitudes, knowledge, critical understanding, and skills—notably, critical thinking. These are not alternatives to EdTech, nor competitors; they go hand in hand. The AI transformation of our society makes both the competencies for democratic culture more important and more challenging.

Third, classical knowledge: literature, languages, geography, history—critically important. And, as much as it pains me remembering my own school days, I guess kids should still learn math and physics. There’s no critical thinking without knowledge. Investing in knowledge is essential if you want to counter the distortion that has framed “critical thinking” as a rejection of knowledge, facts and rationality.

Fourth, art. Art is essential because it fosters creativity and innovation, provides an important means of reflection, learning, and transmitting values, and reinforces our human and social confidence and intelligence.

Most of Gerfried’s advice—or as much as ministers could digest—found its way into the 2019 Committee of Ministers Recommendation on Digital Citizenship Education (2019/10). This recommendation built on Council of Europe work since 2016 and led to the 2025 European Year of Digital Citizenship and this final conference in Ljubljana.

The last years brought significant progress, but there are also gaps. We see national implementation of digital citizenship education is still too low, with the exception of Slovenia and its projects strengthening digital citizenship in educational institutions.

There is also a lack of standards, leading to overlapping mandates and a lack of policy cohesion. Hence the road map for digital citizenship education for 2027–2031. I look forward to the rich discussion here with so many stakeholders; I think this provides the perfect launch of the digital citizenship road map, which will build on successful national practices, bring together all concerned, put students and teachers at the heart of the process, be flexible—not prescriptive—and above all, concrete. Theoretical ideas discussed at the European level won’t by themselves change the situation; what happens in the classroom really matters. The objective is clear: to empower learners to act as engaged, responsible, and ethical digital citizens.

At the Council of Europe, digital citizenship education is part of the Directorate for Democracy and supports the new Democratic Pact for Europe, aiming to respond to democratic backsliding seen in recent years. The new Pact has three pillars: learning and practicing democracy; protecting democracy; and innovating for democracy. Education for digital citizenship, this conference, and the future road map will contribute to all three. In May 2027, we expect the New Democratic Pact for Europe to be presented to the Council of Europe Ministers and we are determined that bold and ambitious commitment to education, including and especially education for digital citizenship, will figure as one od its most significant outcomes.

The future is already here: fast, unpredictable, sometimes a bit frightening. Digital citizenship education is a critical tool to foster human agency—to manage and master change and make the best of it for everyone. At the end, the premier demand on every education has not changed that much since 1966; perhaps it has even become more urgent.

Digital citizenship education is a way to make our world a safer, more just, and kinder place. Perhaps not at the order of millions of times better—but if we make it just a little bit nicer, it will already be huge.

Thank you very much.