European Year of Digital Citizenship Education 2025
Vladimir Kitanovski presented the Erasmus+ project “Let’s Stop Hate Speech” at the Digital Citizenship Education Forum: Let’s Act Now!
27–28 May 2025, Strasbourg — At the first Digital Citizenship Education Forum organised by the Council of Europe in the framework of the European Year of Digital Citizenship Education, Vladimir Kitanovski presented the “Let’s Stop Hate Speech” initiative to over 200 participants from 30+ countries – policymakers, researchers, teachers, civil society and private sector representatives.
Let’s Act Now: Reflections from the 2025 Digital Citizenship Education Forum in Strasbourg
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https://europeanyear2025.coe.int/digital-citizenship-education-forum-lets-act-now/
What is “Let’s Stop Hate Speech”
The project aims to systematically limit hate speech online through:
training for students, parents and teachers (media and information literacy, digital ethics, children’s rights online);
local Youth Fact-Check & Care teams for early recognition and reporting of toxic content;
partnership with platforms and moderators for clearer reporting procedures;
open resource package: lesson plans, infographics, checklists for schools and NGOs.
Key highlights from the presentation
Inclusion and trust: “Digital citizenship starts with a sense of belonging. When young people feel heard, they choose dialogue over hate,” emphasized Kitanovski.
Responsibility of all actors: schools, families, media and technology companies have a shared role in creating safe and respectful online spaces.
Practical tools, not abstract slogans: the project demonstrates how digital citizenship policies are translated into everyday practices – from the classroom to content moderation.
Why now
The “Let’s Act Now” forum focused on the education-democracy nexus in the context of disinformation and declining civic trust. The presentation of “Let’s Stop Hate Speech” contributed with concrete methodologies for critical thinking, respectful online dialogue and equal access to safe digital environments.
What’s next
Expanding the network of partner schools and youth centers;
Pilot trainings for teachers (ToT) and parent workshops in more countries;
Sharing evidence of impact (reduced incidents of hate speech, increased digital literacy) at the final meeting in Ljubljana in November 2025.
Call for participation: organizations at school, municipal and national level can get involved as training hosts, local coordinators or expert mentors.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.