Digital Jungle: Critical Thinking, Transmedia Arts and Online Resilience

2026-07-22

"Europe's screens have become a veritable jungle and battleground: every swipe can lead teenagers and young adults to misinformation or endless social media scrolling. From smartphone addiction and cyberbullying to serious mental health consequences, the digital crisis affecting Europe's youth is now omnipresent. The two-year Digital Jungle pilot project is tackling this challenge with innovative, creative methods. Rather than looking for a silver bullet, the project aims to rigorously test new approaches that educators, teachers, parents and young people themselves can adopt and spread. Led by Czech, Italian and Ukrainian partners, Digital Jungle combines media literacy with bold creativity, turning young people into ""digital rangers"" - skilled scouts who can spot fake news, resist addictive habits and turn their devices into tools for storytelling and art. Numerous cross-border activities - from VR gaming labs and fact-checking bootcamps to transmedia art residencies and hybrid hackathons - will test these practices and engage over 1,600 young people and 2,000 educators and cultural workers, equipping them to turn online anxiety into creative output. All project outputs - including ground-breaking interactive apps, comics, VR exhibitions and a final white paper showcasing our unique methods and creative strategies - will be published in multiple languages on an open platform, ensuring that our original approaches reach and inspire audiences far beyond the project's founding communities. The project aims to strengthen cultural diversity by breaking down online echo chambers and combining digital habits with critical analysis and environmental awareness. For lasting impact, participants will mentor others and be able to share original methods, strategies and tools for navigating the digital jungle. Digital Jungle is more than a European project - it is a pan-European movement to restore curiosity, empathy and critical thinking online. "

Czechia, Italy, Ukraine

2026-02-15