• By - digi-admin
• June 19, 2025
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Strengthening Democratic Resilience through Digital Skills

Academic – practitioner – regulator workshop

Location: School of Government and Public Policy
University of Strathclyde Glasgow
Date: 23-24 June 2025

Workshop description

Citizens’ ability to leverage technology in promoting democratic rights and freedoms has become a priority for governments, international and national political organizations worldwide. Digital inclusion and participation in democratic processes allow societies to harness the benefits of technology. Additionally, digital political literacy—especially for vulnerable groups—has become a necessity in times of populism, hybrid warfare, and cyber-attacks. By fostering digital political literacy, citizens could better address the risks associated with digital technologies. As a result, their ability to identify and mitigate the spread of disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation in political contexts will improve, ultimately enhancing democratic resilience.

The purpose of this workshop is to bring together academics, practitioners, and regulators to discuss strategies for strengthening democratic resilience through digital skills. The event serves as a platform for stakeholder engagement, enabling participants to exchange knowledge on the positive applications of technology and to identify priorities for future academic and policy initiatives.

Guiding questions for the workshop include:

• What do we know about digital (political) literacy across different countries, and how can we improve it?

• What formal and non-formal educational programs on digital (political) skills are currently being implemented at a cross-national level?

• How do digital civic education interventions defend and enhance democratic attitudes and practices?

This workshop aligns with the objectives of the DIGIEFFECT project and the COST RELINK2 Action, Working Group 4, contributing to the broader goal of exploring how technology can defend and strengthen democracy, particularly for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and first-time voters.

🔗 http://www.digieffect.eu/
🔗 https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA23114/

Workshop programme: 23rd of June 2025

9.30 – 10.00 – Registration
Location: Technology & Innovation Centre (TIC) 99 George Street, Glasgow, G1 1RD

10.00 – 10.30 – Welcome and coffee (TIC, Conference Room 8)
Opening remarks: Professor Tom Scotto, Head of School of Government and Public Policy, University of Strathclyde

10.30 – 12.30 – Panel 1 – Venue: (TIC, Conference Room 8)
Panel 1: Digital literacy: a regulator, practitioner and citizen perspective
Chair: Gabriela Borz, University of Strathclyde / Discussant: COST RELINK2 participants

Speakers:

1. Sorcha Hughes, The Guardian Foundation
   The News Wise project and digital literacy for young children: evidence from the UK

2. Bethany McKechnie, Ofcom, UK
   The role of Ofcom as a regulatory agency in promoting and safeguarding digital skills in a democratic context

3. Gabriela Borz and Thomas Montgomerie, University of Strathclyde and Babes-Bolyai University
   Digital political literacy: results from the DIGIEFFECT citizen survey

Lunch break

14.00 – 16.00 – Panel 2 – Venue: (TIC, Conference Room 8)
Panel 2: Digital skills for democracy: an institutional and organisational perspective
Chair: Fabrizio de Francesco, University of Strathclyde / Discussant: Valerie McTaggart, Atlantic Technological University

Speakers:

1. Elona Hoxha, University of New York Tirana and former member of the Albanian Parliament
   The digitalization of services in Albania: the role of Parliament against foreign interference

2. Krzysztof Figlarz, Association 61, Warsaw, Poland
   Civic education programmes for digital participation

3. Dmytro Khutkyy, University of Tartu
   Digital Skills for Internet voting

4. Franziska Hollstein, Demokratie Wegweiser, Germany
   Strengthening local democracy through digital participation

Dinner – 19.00 – Amore Restaurant (30 Ingram Street, Merchant City, Glasgow, G1 1EZ)

📍 Google Maps Link

Workshop programme: 24th of June 2025

Venue: University of Strathclyde, Stenhouse Building, 173-199 Cathedral Street, room: SW106

9.30 – 10.00 – Networking and coffee

10.00 – 10.45
Opening remarks: Professor John Bachtler, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

World Caffee session (moderators: Rogerio Puga, Universidade Nova, Portugal și Elona Hoxha, New York University of Tirana)

10.45 – 11.00 – COST RELINK 2 WG4 group discussion

Guests leaving