Online education Archives | Digital Watch Observatory

Ireland launches fund for fact-checking and anti-disinformation training

Ireland’s media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, has launched a funding call to support training in fact-checking, prebunking and debunking for journalists and media professionals during 2026.

The programme is aimed at graduate, early-career and mid-career professionals working in news and current affairs. Eligible activities include training courses, mentorship programmes, internships and collaborative projects designed to strengthen fact-checking and verification skills.

The fund forms part of the regulator’s Media Skills and Development Programme and supports objectives outlined in Ireland’s National Counter Disinformation Strategy. Applications are open to academic institutions, accredited bodies and representative organisations, including partnerships involving media organisations.

Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan said the initiative would help strengthen professional skills and support high-quality journalism. Applications are open until 2 July 2026, with all funded activities to be delivered in Ireland during 2026.

Why does it matter?

Fact-checking, verification and disinformation response skills are becoming increasingly important as journalists navigate rapidly evolving information environments shaped by social media, generative AI and coordinated influence campaigns.

By investing in professional training, Ireland aims to strengthen media resilience, support evidence-based reporting and enhance the capacity of news organisations to identify and counter misleading or false information.

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UNESCO launches online child safety training

UNESCO and India’s National Council of Educational Research and Training have launched a national training programme to help teachers, educators, and education professionals identify, prevent, and respond to online violence affecting children.

The five-day programme is delivered live from 1 to 5 June 2026 in English, followed by a Hindi edition from 8 to 12 June. It is broadcast on NCERT’s official YouTube channel and the PM e-VIDYA platform, as well as on DTH TV Channels 6–12. Certification is available through the DIKSHA platform.

The initiative aims to strengthen teacher capacity as children spend more time on social media, gaming platforms, and online learning tools. UNESCO said India has more than one billion internet subscribers, with young people among the country’s most active digital users.

The programme covers cyberbullying, online grooming, image-based abuse, exploitation, exposure to harmful content, hate speech, and misinformation. It also addresses the impact of online violence on children’s mental health, well-being, learning outcomes, and participation in education.

Sessions bring together expertise from education, child protection, mental health, law enforcement, and digital governance. Contributors include experts from UNESCO, AIIMS, the Ministry of Home Affairs, NITI Aayog, Delhi Police, and Dublin City University.

UNESCO reported that cybercrime cases against children in India rose from 232 in 2018 to 1,823 in 2022, almost an eight-fold increase. Between 2021 and 2022 alone, reported cases increased by 32%.

The programme aligns with India’s National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023, both of which emphasise digital citizenship, learner safety, digital literacy, and ethical use of technology.

Why does it matter?

The training shows how child online safety is becoming part of education policy, not only cybercrime enforcement. By equipping teachers to recognise online harms and respond through referral pathways, UNESCO and NCERT are treating schools as part of the frontline response to cyberbullying, grooming, image-based abuse, misinformation, and other risks affecting children’s learning and well-being.

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UNESCO promotes media literacy as response to online hate speech

UNESCO has announced a new issue brief examining how Media and Information Literacy (MIL) can help address the spread of hate speech, disinformation and other harmful content across digital platforms. The publication will be officially presented on 18 June, the International Day for Countering Hate Speech.

UNESCO argues that addressing online hate speech requires measures that extend beyond content moderation and regulation. According to UNESCO, strengthening critical thinking, ethical awareness and digital skills can help individuals better navigate information environments, assess online content and engage responsibly in digital spaces while respecting human rights and freedom of expression.

The brief presents Media and Information Literacy as a long-term educational approach to strengthening information integrity and building more resilient societies. UNESCO officials emphasise that sustainable solutions depend on combining governance measures with investments in education, digital citizenship and informed engagement with information.

The publication forms part of UNESCO’s wider efforts to promote information integrity and responsible digital governance. A related webinar will examine how digital platforms, AI and generative technologies can amplify harmful narratives and social polarisation, as well as strategies for fostering safer and more inclusive online environments.

Why does it matter?

The spread of hate speech, disinformation and other harmful content remains a major challenge for governments, platforms and civil society. While regulatory and moderation measures often focus on limiting harmful content, UNESCO argues that long-term resilience also depends on strengthening citizens’ ability to critically assess information and engage responsibly online.

The initiative reflects growing international interest in combining platform governance with education, digital literacy and information integrity efforts as societies adapt to the influence of AI-powered content creation and increasingly complex online information environments.

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UNICEF event to examine AI learning outcomes

A gLocal Evaluation Week 2026 session will examine how to measure the impact of AI on learning outcomes for children and adolescents.

The event, titled ‘Measuring AI impact on learning outcomes’, is scheduled for 2 June and will focus on evidence gaps around AI use in education, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The session will discuss how AI is entering classrooms through personalised learning, tutoring, and teaching tools. UNICEF says some applications show promising results, but many AI tools used across the region lack rigorous impact-focused evaluation measures needed to assess whether they improve learning outcomes and can be scaled effectively.

The discussion will bring together government, research, and evaluation experts to assess existing evidence, identify promising results, and examine gaps in measuring AI’s contribution to learning outcomes at scale.

Participants will also consider unintended effects, including bias and the exclusion of marginalised groups. UNICEF says policymakers still face uncertainty over what works, for whom, and under what conditions when deciding whether to invest in AI tools for education.

Speakers listed for the session include Fiorella Haim of Ceibal, Martín Elías De Simone of the World Bank, Juliette Norrmen-Smith of UNICEF’s Office of Innovation, María Paz Monge of J-PAL-LAC, and Michael Craft of UNICEF. The event will include simultaneous Spanish-English interpretation.

Why does it matter?

The session highlights a key challenge in AI and education: adoption is moving faster than evidence. As AI tools enter classrooms, policymakers need stronger evaluation methods to determine whether they improve learning outcomes, work for different groups of children, and risk reinforcing bias or exclusion.

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UNESCO expands ICT skills training to accelerate digital education in Tanzania

UNESCO, with support from the Republic of Korea and the Government of Tanzania, has trained 52 teachers in Dodoma to improve the use of digital technologies in classroom teaching and learning.

The four-day programme focused on implementing Tanzania’s 2025 ICT Competency Standards for Teachers through digital learning modules developed by the Tanzania Institute of Education. Teachers specialising in ICT, physics, mathematics and chemistry received practical instruction on digital teaching tools, online assessment techniques, educational technologies and open educational resources.

Participants highlighted the value of learning platforms and tools such as video recording applications, interactive quiz systems and collaborative digital learning environments. The programme aimed to help teachers use technology more effectively to improve classroom engagement, teaching quality and student learning outcomes.

Why does it matter?

Digital skills are becoming increasingly important across education systems worldwide. By equipping educators with practical ICT competencies, Tanzania is strengthening its ability to deliver modern, technology-enabled education.

The UNESCO initiative also supports broader efforts to reduce digital divides and build national capacity in education, particularly as countries increasingly integrate technology into teaching, learning and workforce development strategies.

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UNESCO highlights ethical AI integration in South Asian higher education

AI is transforming higher education systems across South Asia, creating opportunities to improve teaching, learning, research, and institutional management, while also exposing challenges around policy readiness, educator capacity, digital infrastructure, and equitable access.

A regional policy dialogue held in Kathmandu on 20 May 2026, jointly organised by UNESCO Kathmandu, Tribhuvan University, the Asian Development Bank, and UNESCO-ICHEI, highlighted the need for coordinated strategies to guide AI integration in higher education.

Key priorities include strengthening policies and strategies for AI use, investing in teacher professional development, improving collaboration between universities and industry, and better understanding the implications of generative AI for higher education and technical and vocational education and training.

The discussions also focused on inclusion, particularly the gender divide in AI. UNESCO said one of the most significant forms of AI bias in South Asia affects girls and women, underscoring the need for their participation in AI-related education and workplaces to build an inclusive AI ecosystem.

The launch of the IIOE Nepal National Centre at Tribhuvan University reflects the growing need for sustained national capacity-building mechanisms to support higher education institutions in adapting to digital transformation.

The dialogue also reinforced the importance of evidence-based policymaking, following the release of the Report on Digital Transformation in Higher Education in South Asia. UNESCO said such knowledge can help governments and universities move beyond experimentation towards more coherent and future-oriented strategies for AI integration.

Why does it matter?

AI integration in higher education is becoming a structural policy issue, not only a classroom technology question. UNESCO’s regional dialogue points to the risk that unequal digital infrastructure, weak institutional capacity, limited AI literacy, and gender gaps could deepen existing inequalities if clear policies, ethical safeguards, and investment in educators do not guide AI adoption.

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ITU puts AI and creativity in focus at Geneva summit

The International Telecommunication Union will place AI and digital creativity in the spotlight during the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, where artists, musicians, filmmakers, and technologists will discuss how AI is reshaping creative industries.

The summit’s AI Creativity and Culture track will explore questions around ownership, authenticity, copyright, and the growing role of generative AI in artistic production. Sessions will examine how AI tools are affecting media, music, publishing, design, fashion, entertainment, journalism, and creative labour.

High-profile participants include John Legend, who will discuss AI and music with Universal Music Group’s Michael Nash, and will.i.am, who will focus on skills, education, and AI. The programme will also feature AI-driven art installations, robotic musical performances, and screenings during the AI for Good Film Festival.

The festival, now in its second year, has received more than 1,200 contest submissions, with selected films to be shown during the summit. The programme will also include the third edition of Canvas of the Future, ITU’s AI-powered art contest, focused on how AI is shaping the future of education and work.

Organised by ITU with partners across the UN system and co-convened with Switzerland, AI for Good is intended to demonstrate AI solutions for people, planet, and prosperity. The 2026 creative programme reflects growing international attention to how AI is changing cultural production, intellectual property, and the economics of creative work.

Why does it matter?

The programme shows how AI governance debates are expanding beyond safety, productivity, and infrastructure into culture, copyright, ownership, and creative labour. By bringing together artists, entertainment companies, technologists, and UN actors in a single forum, AI for Good is treating AI creativity as both an economic opportunity and a policy challenge.

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YouthDig participants urge stronger youth role in shaping digital policy at EuroDIG 2026

Youth participants at EuroDIG 2026 called for stronger protections around AI, surveillance, children’s rights, accessibility, labour conditions, and digital inclusion, while urging policymakers to involve young people more directly in shaping internet governance and digital policy.

The session focused on presenting the outcomes of YouthDig 2025, EuroDIG’s youth dialogue on internet governance, which brings together young participants from across Europe and neighbouring regions to discuss digital policy issues and draft collective policy messages.

Florence Ranson opened the session by explaining that the discussion aimed to provide a more detailed presentation of the youth messages developed during the YouthDig programme. Frances Douglas-Thompson, member of the EuroDIG Programme Committee, described YouthDig as a preparatory process that combines policy discussions, capacity-building activities, and long-term community-building among young people interested in internet governance.

Organisers said YouthDig 2025 received around 400 applications and brought together 30 participants onsite in Brussels from diverse academic, professional, and geographic backgrounds. Participants included students, academics, civil servants, local politicians, and representatives from public institutions.

The programme included preparatory webinars and in-person discussions focused on AI, online child safety, AI in public services, healthcare, environmental impacts of digital technologies, disinformation, state surveillance, internet shutdowns, and democratic resilience.

Somaya Louhmadi, YouthDIG organiser/presenter, explained that one part of the programme involved crisis simulations addressing deepfakes and AI-driven election manipulation scenarios, while other sessions focused on privacy, cookies, and digital rights from a human rights perspective.

YouthDIG representatives Cecile Vicquery and Liana Vasil then presented the collective policy messages drafted during the event. Participants highlighted concerns surrounding data ownership, profiling, surveillance, algorithmic bias, workplace protections, and AI’s impact on vulnerable groups.

The youth messages also called for stronger digital literacy, protections for children’s data, mental health support related to social media use, accessibility for persons with disabilities and older users, improved rural connectivity, and greater transparency around AI-generated content.

Participants further raised concerns about the environmental and labour impacts associated with digital infrastructure and AI supply chains, including the working conditions of content moderators and resource extraction workers.

On disinformation and AI-generated content, the youth group proposed stronger media literacy initiatives, clearer labelling of AI-generated images and videos, and safeguards against harmful uses of AI systems.

Responding to the youth presentations, Fabrizia Benini of the European Commission said young people’s perspectives should play a more direct role in policymaking and linked the discussion to broader EU youth dialogue initiatives and debates on human-centric digital transformation.

Sophie Kwasny of the Council of Europe highlighted the participants’ focus on power structures, vulnerability, surveillance, and social consequences of digital governance. She also encouraged young people to make use of existing legal and institutional frameworks related to privacy, data protection, and human rights.

Both speakers stressed that youth participation should go beyond symbolic representation and involve meaningful co-design of digital policy processes.

The discussion also reflected on the challenges of reaching consensus within multistakeholder discussions. Participants explained that differences in educational, cultural, and stakeholder backgrounds sometimes made agreement on specific policy solutions difficult, particularly around normative questions linked to regulation and digital rights.

The session concluded with calls for young people to remain active in digital policy debates, build stronger networks, and continue engaging with existing institutional and governance processes.

EuroDIG 2026 takes place on 26 and 27 May at the Charlemagne Building of the European Commission in Brussels under the theme ‘European Voices for the Future of the Internet – Celebrating 20 Years of .eu and the Beginning of a New Internet Governance Era’.

Digital Watch Observatory is following EuroDIG 2026 through a dedicated event page, featuring session information and reporting from Brussels.

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Greece launches public AI literacy guide for citizens

Greece’s Ministry of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence has launched ‘Artificial Intelligence for All’, a public guide designed to improve understanding and use of AI tools.

The guide was developed through cooperation between leading AI scientists, the Ministry of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence, the National Council for Research, Technology and Innovation, and the Special Secretariat for Long-Term Planning. The guide is available free of charge through the digital platform of the Special Secretariat for Artificial Intelligence and Data Governance.

According to the ministry, the initiative aims to support digital education, responsible AI use, and a broader understanding of AI systems.

The material introduces basic concepts related to AI and large language models through practical examples and simplified explanations. The guide explains how AI systems can process different forms of data and generate outputs, including recommendations, summaries, and digital content.

The project forms part of Greece’s broader digital strategy focused on digital skills development and public familiarity with emerging technologies.

Officials also highlighted collaboration with the members of the Greek scientific community in Greece and abroad, with the objective of making advanced technological tools more accessible to the wider population.

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India summit boosts inclusive AI for development

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Indian School of Business have convened the Governance Summit 2026, focusing on inclusive AI under the country’s Viksit Bharat development vision.

The one-day summit, held on 23 May 2026 at the ISB Mohali Campus, was organised in collaboration with the Bharti Institute of Public Policy. The event focused on AI-powered approaches to digital commerce, online safety, healthcare, governance, job creation, and digital entrepreneurship.

MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan said AI offers India an opportunity to improve productivity, governance, and access across sectors, including healthcare, education, manufacturing, and financial inclusion. He also said India is positioned to use AI for inclusive growth, while acknowledging concerns about its impact on cognitive jobs.

The programme included four thematic panels on AI in digital commerce, online safety for women and children, healthcare access and affordability, and job creation and digital entrepreneurship. A parallel roundtable examined how AI could support last-mile public service delivery, from state governments to gram panchayats.

Ashwini Chhatre, Associate Professor and Executive Director at the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, said AI should be treated as a long-term national mission. He highlighted inequality, leapfrogging opportunities, and the future of jobs as key issues in India’s emerging AI landscape, and called for equitable access through safeguards, social security mechanisms, and affirmative action.

The summit brought together government officials, industry leaders, academics, and civil society representatives. Participants included Reliance Retail, Mastercard, Apollo Hospitals, IIT Madras, UNICEF India, Punjab Police, and central and state government ministries.

Why does it matter?

The summit reflects India’s effort to frame AI as part of a broader development and public service agenda, rather than solely as an industrial or innovation policy issue. Its focus on last-mile service delivery, online safety, healthcare access, jobs, and digital entrepreneurship points to the governance questions India will need to address as AI systems are deployed across public and economic sectors.

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