Digital citizenship competences (values, attitudes, skills and knowledge) shape how we act in the digital world, and how ethically it will evolve. Experts working with Insight are also individually involved in many multi-stakeholder partnerships, very often with the Council of Europe, to develop educational tools and services to empower digital citizens of all ages.

2019 saw the launch of the Council of Europe’s Digital Citizenship Education Handbook, 2020-21 the publication of survey results from 21,000 parents in 46 countries who shared their perspective on digital citizenship, and 2022 saw the creation of a video series for 4 to 8 year olds. A major project in 2021-2022, was the development of a teaching curriculum for global citizenship, shortly to be published by UNESCO. Many of these resources are available in up to 20 languages.

The most powerful way to help children become responsible internet users and stay safe online is through education. We create and implement innovative approaches, tools and publications for children and their families, teachers and community. One such tool is the Digital Compass, a privacy-friendly, active research platform we use in conjuction with «SmartBus». The SmartBus has been developed in partnership with Huawei, and aims to empower teens in the digital world through fun sessions animated by local magicians. Since its creation in 2019, the SmartBus has run in secondary schools in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

Insight is tackling the online challenge from another angle too, leading research for the IS3C, an international coalition on Internet Standards, Security, Safety, and recently released a report on the growing gap between the qualifications of tertiary graduates and the skill requirements of the cybersecurity industry.

Insight regularly participates in European Commission projects. In 2016-2019, we joined universities and learning centres in 10 countries as ethical adviser on Mathisis, aimed at “smart” learning and the use robotics in broadly varying educational contexts. We partnered CNTI-Cyprus in 2020-2022 to develop research tools for spotting innovation in vocational education projects led by the EU-agency, ETF. In March 2023 we once again took on the role of advisor in two new projects, one on interactive narratives to tackle hate speech (PROPS), and the other on democracy in schools (DEMOCRAT). Knowledge-building opportunities such as these place Insight at the leading edge of the digital transformation in education.

Over the years, Insight has conducted several anti-bullying initiatives. For example, members of the Insight team designed and led the EU-funded programme ENABLE, authored the Council of Europe publication entitled Bullying: perspectives, practice and, and sit on the steering committee of Power of Zero. This latter is an early childhood programme implemented in several countries worldwide to develop social-emotional skills. We have been tackling bullying in the MENA region too, as experts with the Council of Europe, and in partnership with the national government and NGOs. Activities include training for teachers and youth services, developing resources, and promoting the take-up of peer education. Meta, Instagram and Kaspersky have lent their support in Morocco too, contributing to the creation of a national youth forum in 2022, and the launch of a helpline in February 2023.