Digital Minds of the Future |19.05.2026-26.05.2026|
Mezőberény, Hungary

Digital Minds of the Future brought together 26 youth workers from Bulgaria, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, and Türkiye in Mezőberény, Hungary, for eight days of intensive learning and international cooperation.

The training was designed to strengthen the digital competences of youth workers and explore how innovative digital tools can enhance the quality of youth work. Through non-formal education, experiential learning, teamwork, and intercultural exchange, participants developed practical skills in digital content creation, artificial intelligence, blended learning, virtual collaboration, digital storytelling, and online facilitation.

Throughout the training, participants explored how technology can be used not simply as a technical resource, but as a meaningful educational tool that promotes youth participation, inclusion, creativity, and active citizenship. By combining practical workshops, collaborative challenges, reflection sessions, and real-life digital projects, the course created a dynamic learning environment where participants could experiment with new methodologies and immediately consider how to transfer them into their daily youth work practice.

Objectives

• Digital Competence Development: To strengthen the digital competencies of youth workers by providing practical experience with innovative digital tools, digital content creation, and online and blended learning methods that can be effectively integrated into youth work activities.

• Innovative Pedagogical Practices: To enhance the quality of youth work by introducing creative non-formal education methods that combine digital technologies, virtual collaboration, and interactive learning approaches to increase young people's engagement and participation.

• Inclusive Digital Youth Work: To support youth workers in designing inclusive digital learning environments that promote equal access, active participation, and meaningful engagement of young people, including those with fewer opportunities, through accessible and participatory digital practices.

During the training days

The training course began by creating a supportive learning environment where participants had the opportunity to get to know one another through interactive team-building activities, establish a common social contract, and reflect on their expectations and learning goals. These first sessions helped build trust, encouraged open communication, and created the foundations for effective international cooperation throughout the project.

The following days introduced participants to the principles of youth work and non-formal education through experiential learning and theatre-based activities. By comparing formal and non-formal learning methods and exploring the Youthpass framework, participants gained a deeper understanding of how learning can be recognised and reflected upon. A community challenge in Mezőberény also encouraged intercultural exchange while allowing participants to discover the local environment and strengthen team cohesion.

As the training progressed, participants explored the rapidly evolving field of digital youth work. They experimented with artificial intelligence through the Gandalf password challenge, learning the importance of effective prompting, critical thinking, teamwork, and responsible AI use. The activity encouraged participants not only to interact with AI tools but also to design educational activities that could be transferred into their own youth work contexts.

Digital creativity became one of the central themes of the course. Participants discovered a wide range of educational technologies, including tools for interactive presentations, digital storytelling, visual communication, gamification, and online engagement. Working in international groups, they created escape rooms, interactive maps, visual campaigns, quizzes, and educational resources promoting Erasmus+ opportunities and the European Youth Goals. These practical workshops demonstrated how digital technologies can make learning more engaging, accessible, and participatory.

Another important component focused on multimedia production and digital content creation. After learning the basics of storytelling, filming, and video editing, participants worked collaboratively to develop their own short educational videos. Besides improving technical competences, this process strengthened creativity, communication, project planning, and collaborative problem-solving, while demonstrating how audiovisual media can become a powerful educational tool in youth work. 

Learning also extended beyond the training venue. Through a digital scavenger hunt using Actionbound in Békéscsaba, participants explored the city, local youth spaces, and community initiatives while completing interactive challenges. This activity demonstrated how digital technologies can successfully combine outdoor education, local discovery, teamwork, and non-formal learning into one engaging experience. 

The programme also introduced participants to virtual youth spaces and blended learning approaches. Using immersive digital environments, they explored new possibilities for online youth participation, collaboration, and creativity. Discussions and practical exercises highlighted how virtual spaces can complement face-to-face activities and increase accessibility for young people who may otherwise face barriers to participation.

Building on these experiences, participants worked with artificial intelligence-powered application development using Base44. International teams designed and prototyped digital applications addressing real needs in youth work, including language learning, cultural awareness, project management, youth participation, evaluation methods, and education about the European Youth Goals. This activity encouraged innovation while demonstrating that AI-powered solutions can be accessible even for youth workers without advanced programming knowledge.

Building on these experiences, participants worked with artificial intelligence-powered application development using Base44. International teams designed and prototyped digital applications addressing real needs in youth work, including language learning, cultural awareness, project management, youth participation, evaluation methods, and education about the European Youth Goals. This activity encouraged innovation while demonstrating that AI-powered solutions can be accessible even for youth workers without advanced programming knowledge.

The training also placed strong emphasis on responsible digital citizenship. Participants collaboratively designed and facilitated interactive learning sessions on digital etiquette, creating practical guidelines for respectful, inclusive, and accessible online communication. Through simulations, role plays, collaborative digital platforms, and reflection, they explored how safe online environments can contribute to better international cooperation and youth participation.

The final day focused on ensuring the sustainability of the project's results. Participants developed dissemination plans to transfer the acquired knowledge into their organisations and local communities, completed the final evaluation process, reflected on their individual learning journeys through Youthpass.