THINK DIGITAL Reflections: A Week of Questioning, Fact-Checking, and Digital Citizenship in Ružomberok
Seven days, six countries, 37 young people, and one shared mission: to stop scrolling and start questioning.
From 16 to 22 July 2026, IKReON hosted THINK DIGITAL, an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange on critical thinking in the digital age, in Ružomberok.
By the end of the week, participants didn’t just leave with new knowledge — they left with fact-checking skills they had tested themselves, awareness campaigns they had presented to the local community, and the confidence to act as informed, responsible digital citizens.
Participants: 31 young people and 6 group leaders
Countries: SK, IT, ES, CZ, PL, AM
Location: Ružomberok, Slovakia
Dates: 16–22 July 2026
Day-by-Day Recap
- Day 1 – Introduction and Baseline
- Day 2 – Spotting Misinformation and Media Bias
- Day 3 – Algorithms and Digital Influence
- Day 4 – Digital Debate and Ethical Online Engagement
- Day 5 – Fact-Checking Tools and Techniques
- Day 6 – Campaign Preparation and Rehearsal
- Day 7 – Final Showcase, Youthpass, and Next Steps
Day 1: Introduction and Baseline
We opened with Two Truths and One Lie: Digital Edition and the Digital Footprint Challenge, where mixed-nationality teams looked at the traces they leave online and the risks that come with them. After sharing their fears and expectations, participants set personal learning goals and were introduced to Youthpass and its eight key competences.
Day 2: Spotting Misinformation and Media Bias
The focus turned to fake news. In the Real or Fake? workshop, groups compared headlines and short articles from different countries and learned to recognise deepfakes, clickbait and other common formats. Real-life case studies and a close look at their own news feeds helped participants spot political, commercial and confirmation bias.
Day 3: Algorithms and Digital Influence
Participants looked behind the feed. Sessions on algorithmic influence and algorithmic vs. human curation showed how platforms decide what we see, while the Targeted Ads & Data Privacy workshop revealed how personal data is collected, traded and used to reach us.
Day 4: Digital Debate and Ethical Online Engagement
A day for disagreeing respectfully. In Constructive Online Debates, teams rewrote heated social media exchanges into calm, logical dialogue. Role-plays on ethical dilemmas — from troll accounts to a friend spreading hate speech — and a workshop on preventing cyberbullying gave participants practical ways to respond when things go wrong online.
Day 5: Fact-Checking Tools and Techniques
The most hands-on day of the week. Participants tested fact-checking platforms and browser extensions, practised reverse image searches, video frame analysis and metadata checks, and guided each other through peer fact-checks. It ended with the Gamified Fact-Check Challenge, where teams rotated through stations and competed for points.
Day 6: Campaign Preparation and Rehearsal
Teams turned the week’s learning into their own awareness campaigns on critical thinking and fact-checking. After sessions on goal-setting, online storytelling and audience engagement, they finalised short videos, infographics and social media posts, then pitched them to the whole group in a rehearsal and feedback session.
Day 7: Final Showcase, Youthpass, and Next Steps
The week closed with the public THINK DIGITAL Final Event, where teams presented their critical-thinking campaigns to the local community, local authorities and stakeholders. Participants then finalised their Youthpass certificates, received them in an official ceremony and compared their first-day and last-day feedback in a closing Plus & Delta evaluation.
The THINK DIGITAL Guidelines
The week’s lasting result is a shared resource: THINK DIGITAL — Guidelines to Critical Thinking in the Digital World, an open toolkit that brings together the methods, activities and practical tips tested in Ružomberok, so youth workers and educators can run them with their own groups. The guide is free to download and will be shared through SALTO-YOUTH and the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform. Participants also documented their learning with Youthpass.
What’s Next?
- Participants share what they learned through local activities and peer-to-peer workshops in their own communities.
- The THINK DIGITAL Guidelines reach youth workers and educators across Europe.
- Results are shared through SALTO-YOUTH and the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform.
IKReON thanks its partner organisations — Pro.M.E.T.EU.S. (IT), Wild Geese (CZ), Colectivo Circo Zaragoza (ES), Fundacja I2 (PL) and FYCA (AM) — and our hosts in Ružomberok for making the week possible.
