Fostering Digital Competences for Safe and Democratic Deliberations in the EU

forthcoming

Democratic systems in Europe are facing increasing challenges. Trust in institutions is declining, for example, only 11% of young Europeans believe democracy functions effectively. Simultaneously, political participation is shifting to digital spaces, where youth are vulnerable to disinformation, polarization, and manipulation. According to the EC, 63% of young people regularly encounter online disinformation, yet only 9% have received training to recognize it. In this context, building civic resilience demands competences for critical, ethical, and informed digital engagement. In response, a growing number of digital democracy courses have been introduced into secondary education curricula across Europe. However, without robust tools to assess these competences, progress remains difficult to track and sustain. DC4Democracy addresses this need by advancing the assessment of digital deliberation competences (skills that enable one to engage meaningfully and responsibly in digital democratic life). Aligned with DigComp, the project will co-create a multilingual framework and toolkit for assessing these competences across Europe.The consortium includes ten partners from seven countries bringing together universities, policy institutes, VET providers, schools, and a company. This ensures alignment with pedagogical, technological, and policy goals and broad access to diverse educational settings. DC4Democracy follows a multi-phase methodology combining literature mapping, focus groups, expert consultation, a Delphi study, and agile development. Pilots will be implemented in five schools and VET institutions, involving 1,600 students and 60 educators. The main output will be a classroom-ready toolkit featuring self-assessment instruments and branching video scenarios simulating real-life democratic decision-making. Ultimately, DC4Democracy envisions a future where all young people are empowered to become informed, critical, and responsible participants in digital democratic life.