AI-ready digital citizenship was at the centre of discussions at GeNeMe 2025 in Dresden, under the theme “AI & Humanity: Technology with Social Responsibility.” Hosted at ehs (Evangelischen Hochschule) Dresden and streamed in hybrid format, the conference gathered professional educators, technologists, and policymakers with a shared goal: shaping digital communities that balance innovation with responsibility.

The opening keynote by Prof. Dr. Nina Weimann-Sandig, “Menschlichkeit im Algorithmus: Professionelle Identitäten im Zeitalter der KI,” set the tone. Her message — keep humanity at the centre of AI — echoed throughout the two days and framed many of the digital citizenship education sessions that followed.

Parents as co-educators in AI-ready digital citizenship

For us at Parents International, GeNeMe was a natural fit. On Friday morning, within the Digitale Bildung: Kompetenzen track, Aristidis Protopsaltis presented findings from the Erasmus+ DRONE Project in a talk titled “Digital Competence, Citizenship, and Parental Attitudes Towards Artificial Intelligence: German Insights.”

The session underlined IPA’s central claim: parents are not just stakeholders but co-educators in fostering AI-ready digital citizenship. While schools adapt to new AI tools, families are already making daily decisions — about devices, platforms, privacy, and AI trustworthiness — that shape how young people build their digital competence and citizenship values.

Research insights from German parents

The DRONE research, focused on German families, revealed three urgent findings:

1. Digital competence is a family matter. Parents’ skills and confidence with technology form the baseline for how children assess risks, recognise misinformation, and use AI constructively. When families understand both how tools work and why to use them, the whole ecosystem benefits.
2. Citizenship goes beyond usage. While exposure to AI is universal, citizenship is intentional. Values like fairness, privacy, and responsibility must move with children between home and school, with parents serving as the bridge.
3. Parental attitudes shape behaviour. Parents’ views on AI — positive or sceptical — directly influence household rules and role-modelling. Balanced parental attitudes encourage healthier, more thoughtful AI use among teenagers.

Practical implications for digital citizenship education

What made the session stand out was its practical angle. The DRONE Project places families at the forefront, not the margins, recognising parents as the primary contributors to AI-ready digital citizenship.

Key recommendations include:

• Coordinated family–school strategies on AI literacy
• Shared language on AI’s benefits and risks
• Toolkits for parents and teachers to evaluate AI outputs
• Guidance on privacy, data literacy, and critical thinking for families

If we want resilient democratic digital communities, we must equip parents with the same intentionality we expect from schools.

European policy context: AI and digital citizenship

The findings from the DRONE project also connect with broader European Union policy priorities. The EU Artificial Intelligence Act stresses transparency, accountability, and human oversight in AI systems — principles that echo the parental concerns observed in the study.

Similarly, the Digital Education Action Plan (2021–2027) calls for strengthening digital skills at all levels of society, recognising that families, not just schools, are critical in preparing young people for a digital future. And in the context of Education for Democracy, the European Commission has underlined the importance of values-based education that links citizenship, ethics, and digital competence.

By placing parents at the heart of AI-ready digital citizenship, IPA’s work contributes directly to these policy goals. It reminds us that the most ambitious frameworks succeed only when translated into the daily practices of families, schools, and communities.

Humanity in the loop — starting at home

The closing sentiment of GeNeMe 2025 mirrored its opening chord: keep humanity in the loop. For IPA, this work begins at home. Supporting parents in digital competence and AI literacy is essential to raising citizens who can navigate AI with confidence, ethics, and agency.

FAQ: AI-Ready Digital Citizenship and Parents’ Role

What is AI-ready digital citizenship?
It means preparing young people not only to use AI tools but to understand their social, ethical, and democratic implications. It combines digital competence, critical thinking, and citizenship values.

Why are parents central to AI education?
Parents make daily decisions about devices, platforms, privacy, and trust in AI outputs. Their attitudes and skills directly influence how children learn to use AI responsibly.

How does parental attitude toward AI matter?
If parents are balanced and informed, teenagers are more likely to adopt thoughtful, safe, and ethical behaviours when interacting with AI technologies.

What support do families need?
Families benefit from clear guidance, practical toolkits, and cooperation with schools to evaluate AI outputs, manage privacy, and promote data literacy.

How does this link to European policy?
The EU AI Act and the Digital Education Action Plan both emphasise human-centred AI and democratic participation. Parents play a crucial role in making these policies real at home and in schools.

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In mid-September 2025, Budapest hosted the 11th International Workshop on Efficiency in Education, Health and other Public Services. The event was convened under the umbrella of Project EFFEct — an ambitious Horizon Europe initiative designed to improve the way policymakers, researchers, and practitioners think about efficiency in education and beyond. Over two days, the meeting brought together leading scholars and practitioners to exchange evidence, refine methodologies, and reflect on how efficiency can be measured and improved across diverse public service domains.

What is Project EFFEct?

Project EFFEct (short for Evidence on Efficiency for Education, Health and other Public Services) is coordinated by KU Leuven and funded by the European Commission through Horizon Europe (grant 101129146). Its mission is to strengthen the evidence base for policy by developing robust methodologies to assess efficiency in key sectors such as education, health, and public institutions.

Efficiency, in this context, is not simply about cost reduction. It refers to the capacity of institutions to use available resources in ways that maximise outcomes — be they learning gains, health improvements, or citizen wellbeing. As the project’s website highlights, EFFEct is motivated by three guiding principles:

• Evidence-driven decision making: Public services must rely on reliable, comparable data to ensure resources are allocated where they deliver the greatest impact.
• Context sensitivity: Efficiency looks different in different institutional and cultural environments. A one-size-fits-all approach cannot capture the complexity of educational or health systems.
• Policy relevance: Academic results must be translated into clear, actionable insights that decision-makers can use.

To achieve this, the project integrates quantitative tools such as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis with qualitative approaches that capture institutional dynamics. The project aims to generate practical frameworks that can be used across countries to benchmark performance and to inform reforms. Ultimately, the initiative aspires to create a community of practice linking researchers, policymakers, and civil society around the common goal of improving public services.

The Budapest Meeting and Workshop

The September workshop in Budapest was both a project milestone and a major academic gathering. Hosted at the Humán Tudományok Kutatóháza (Centre for Social Sciences), the 11th International Workshop on Efficiency in Education, Health and other Public Services featured a rich two-day programme of presentations, debates, and keynotes.

Day One: Education in the Spotlight

The opening day placed education front and centre, with four consecutive sessions dedicated to different dimensions of educational efficiency.

• Session 1 (Education I & II) explored how information shapes educational choices and access. Contributions ranged from Diogo Conceição’s experimental study on summer-school take-up among primary pupils to Jagbir Singh Kadyan’s analysis of corporate responsibility in Indian education and health. In parallel, researchers examined how detracking reforms, admission lotteries, and region-specific strategies influence attainment.
• Session 2 (Education III & IV) turned to admissions, sorting, and teaching. Presenters discussed higher education policy in Türkiye, ICT integration in schools, and Irish students’ perceptions of bullying, while parallel talks focused on digital leadership among school principals, teacher shortages, and building teacher self-efficacy in digital competence.
• The first keynote was delivered by Jasmina Berbegal Mirabent, who addressed the critical issue of how universities share information with their communities. Her lecture, From data to dialogue: Sharing university information in meaningful ways, urged participants to consider not only what data are collected, but how they can be communicated to foster trust and informed decision-making.
• Session 3 (Education V & Public Institutions) closed the day with a broadened lens. International comparisons of educational spending efficiency (TIMSS 2023 data), cross-country analyses of compulsory schooling in the EU27, and performance trends in European regions were set alongside studies of university funding models and the efficiency of clinical research hospitals.

The day ended with an informal dinner, allowing participants to continue exchanges beyond the academic panels.

Day Two: Beyond Education—Skills, Policy, and Governance

The second day extended the focus to broader public service domains.

• Session 5 examined efficiency in public institutions and services, covering topics such as quality of government and regional productivity in the EU, water service quality, and composite indicators in public services enhanced by artificial intelligence. A parallel skills track included analyses of mathematics achievement in developing countries, the role of physical characteristics in combat outcomes, and the devastating effects of war on Ukrainian universities.
• Session 6 addressed financial skills and governance. Presentations spanned municipal voter satisfaction, financial literacy through gamified trading simulations, and the role of AI-supported learning. In parallel, governance papers explored the outcomes of public tenders in the Czech IT sector, wellbeing metrics across countries, and systemic inefficiencies in Kosovo’s education system.
• The programme concluded with a keynote by Benjamin Castlemann, offering fresh insights into the future of educational policy research (topic announced at the event).

A Crossroads for Evidence and Policy

Across its sessions, the Budapest workshop demonstrated the breadth and depth of contemporary efficiency research. While the papers were diverse—ranging from econometric modelling to qualitative explorations of teacher training—they shared a commitment to generating actionable knowledge. What emerged was a clear sense that efficiency must be understood not only as a technical concept but also as a normative one: how societies choose to allocate resources reflects broader priorities and values.

For Project EFFEct, the workshop reinforced its role as a convening platform for scholars and policymakers committed to evidence-based public services. As the project moves forward, the insights generated in Budapest will feed into its comparative studies and methodological outputs, helping to shape policies that make education, health, and governance more effective, equitable, and responsive.

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From 26 to 29 August 2025, Dublin welcomed professional educators, researchers, and policymakers from across the globe to the ATEE Annual Conference, hosted at the Marino Institute of Education, a campus set in the historic Lord Charlemont’s estate. The conference’s theme, “The Making of Authentic Teachers in Ages of Artificiality?”, framed a vibrant exploration of authenticity amid the rise of AI, social media, and the rapid evolution of teacher identities.

I was there as a representative of Parents International. My perspective took shape in a paper presentation titled “Teachers’ digital literacy and attitudes towards AI,” grounded in insights from the Erasmus+ DRONE Project, an initiative designed to support professional educators as they navigate AI, media literacy, and disinformation among vulnerable adolescents.

Why ATEE matters

The Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE) Annual Conference is one of Europe’s most influential fora for teacher education. Each year it gathers academics, policymakers, and practitioners to exchange research and practice on contemporary challenges — from ethics in AI to inclusive pedagogy and the professional identity of teachers. Its rotating locations keep the conversation diverse and grounded in local realities, while its commitment to research-informed practice strengthens the link between university departments and classroom implementation. For a field being reshaped by generative AI, platform algorithms, and shifting social expectations, ATEE acts as a compass: it helps align initial teacher education and in-service professional development with the evolving needs of learners, families, and society.

In Dublin’s academic neighbourhood of Drumcondra, this year’s edition convened over 300 participants from 56 countries, creating a dense, international dialogue. Sessions on AI’s expanding role in education, creative pedagogies, and teacher identity proved especially fertile for cross-pollination between theory and practice.

Introducing the DRONE Project

DRONE — short for “Teacher and school leaders training to promote Digital liteRacy and combat the spread of disinformation among vulNerable groups of adolEscents” — is an Erasmus+ initiative focused on building the digital literacy, critical-thinking, and ethical-AI capacities of school communities. It equips school leaders, professional educators, students (11–18), parents/guardians, and policymakers with practical training and resources to tackle disinformation and navigate the online world critically. At its core are four strands of work: identifying gaps in current provision; developing fit-for-purpose materials; delivering large-scale training; and sustaining impact through networks and policy guidance.

Beyond capacity-building, DRONE aims to achieve individual, organisational, and systemic impact across partner countries by integrating its materials into provider curricula, producing evidence-based policy guidelines for digital citizenship in school communities, and cultivating a Europe-wide network of ambassadors to sustain momentum.

Presenting on digital literacy and AI attitudes

Against this backdrop, my presentation offered an evidence-informed exploration of how professional educators are developing digital literacy and what their prevailing attitudes toward AI may signal for the future of education. Drawing on DRONE’s mixed-methods research and training frameworks, I highlighted both challenges and opportunities — among them disparities in familiarity with AI tools, concerns about algorithmic bias and data privacy, and the urgency of embedding ethical literacy into professional learning.

The floor discussion was lively and practical. Colleagues asked: How can initial teacher education and continuous professional development better scaffold AI and media-literacy learning? What does assessment look like when AI is present in everyday tasks? How do we partner with families to address disinformation without moral panic? And what are effective school-level protocols for ensuring transparency, inclusivity, and student agency when AI enters the classroom workflow?

Session highlights: authenticity in an age of artificiality

A number of sessions resonated with DRONE’s mission:

• Authenticity and professional judgement. Several presenters argued that authenticity is less about spontaneity and more about truthful professional judgement: the ability to explain and justify decisions in light of evidence, ethics, and learner wellbeing. That dovetails with DRONE’s emphasis on critical evaluation of information and transparent decision-making.
• AI as amplifier, not substitute. Panels cautioned against treating AI as a replacement for human expertise, positioning it instead as an amplifier of professional practice when used critically — e.g., for formative feedback patterns, accessible materials, or reflective analysis of pupil work — provided that professional educators retain agency, audit tools, and make judgement calls on when not to use AI.
• Community literacy and partnership. Discussions stressed that school impact depends on wider ecosystems: partnerships with families and community organisations are essential to counter disinformation, model responsible digital habits, and keep interventions culturally grounded. This echoes DRONE’s multi-stakeholder design and its attention to vulnerable adolescent groups.

Place and purpose: Dublin as a learning city

Beyond formal sessions, the city itself provided a narrative thread. A civic welcome underscored Dublin as a crossroads of history, ideas, and education — an apt metaphor for a conference about authenticity in complex times. Walking through Temple Bar’s cobbled lanes or pausing in Georgian squares, it felt natural to connect the place-making of a learning city with the identity-making of a profession under pressure yet full of possibility.

What this means for professional learning

One of the conference’s clearest takeaways is that digital literacy and AI competence are now core professional literacies, not add-ons. That means:

• Embedding AI/media-literacy outcomes into initial teacher education and mentoring frameworks.
• Providing structured, practice-proximate training for in-service staff — aligned with subject didactics, safeguarding policies, and accessibility standards.
• Designing school-wide approaches that include parents and students as partners, recognising that adolescents live in hybrid online/offline worlds where identity, risk, and opportunity are intertwined.
• Investing in ethical capacity: bias awareness, data protection basics, and practical routines for transparency (e.g., model cards, usage logs, consent patterns).

DRONE’s materials and research are well-positioned to support these shifts, offering ready-to-use tools for staff meetings, departmental CPD, and classroom implementation, alongside guidance for leadership teams and parent engagement. (mydroneproject.eu, esha.org)

Looking ahead

As DRONE advances toward piloting its training across Europe and Ukraine, the perspectives gained at ATEE 2025 affirm the urgency of equipping professional educators with the confidence and competence to use AI ethically and authentically. Our next steps prioritise: finalising research outputs; tailoring training modules to diverse school contexts; and working with partners to integrate resources into existing professional-learning pathways and policy frameworks. (mydroneproject.eu)

Conferences like ATEE remind us that authenticity isn’t nostalgia for a pre-digital past — it’s integrity in practice: clarity about purposes, responsibility for consequences, and commitment to relationships with learners and families. The task now is to keep that integrity at the centre of technological change. With DRONE’s ecosystem approach — supporting professional educators, students, parents/guardians, school leaders, and policymakers — we can build school communities that are media-resilient, critically informed, and future-ready.

Aristidis Protopsaltis, PhD

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