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Recommendation 2167 (2019)
The role of education in the digital era: from “digital natives” to “digital citizens”
1. Referring to its Resolution 2313 (2019) “The
role of education in the digital era: from ‘digital natives’ to ‘digital
citizens’”, the Parliamentary Assembly emphasises the role and value
of education in today’s increasingly digitalised societies. As society
modernises, school systems must undergo a substantial strategic rethinking
of teaching and learning processes, content, learning spaces, partnerships
and evaluation in the digital era. Modern education has not only
the responsibility to live up to the fast-evolving labour market
needs, providing the “digital natives” with the appropriate skills
and competences, but it must also help them become responsible digital
citizens. The Council of Europe has a major role to play in this.
2. The Assembly appreciates the instruments that the Council
of Europe has put in place to promote safe, effective, critical
and responsible participation of children and young people in modern
society, notably the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic
Culture and the Indicator Framework on Culture and Democracy. It
further notes and values the Council of Europe Guidelines to respect,
protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital environment
in its promotion of children’s safety and educational, participative
and other rights when online and using information and communication
technologies (ICTs). The implementation of these instruments needs
to be more widely promoted in member States and beyond.
3. The Assembly also values the tools and handbooks that have
been issued within the framework of the Digital Citizenship Education
project aiming to promote the acquisition, by all children, of the
competences they need as digital citizens to participate actively
and responsibly in a democratic society. There is, however, a pressing
need to devise a proper policy framework and a digital citizenship
education strategy.
4. International multistakeholder co-operation is key in the
connected world. In this respect, the Assembly welcomes the co-operation
of the Council of Europe with the private sector to develop a set
of guidelines on partnerships between educational institutions and
the private sector.
5. The Assembly warmly welcomes Recommendation CM/Rec(2019)10
of the Committee of Ministers to member States on developing and
promoting digital citizenship education, which was adopted on 21
November 2019, and the Declaration on citizenship education in the
digital era adopted by the Ministers of Education of the States
Parties to the 1954 European Cultural Convention, meeting on 26
November 2019 in Paris. The Assembly encourages the Council of Europe
to further work on digital developments that impact the education sector,
exploring ways to eliminate digital exclusion and to face the new
challenges posed by the use of artificial intelligence in education.
6. In this context, the Assembly recommends that the Committee
of Ministers:
6.1. promote more
widely the implementation of the Council of Europe Reference Framework
of Competences for Democratic Culture, in particular through targeted
action within the “Free to speak, safe to learn – democratic schools
for all” campaign, which would enable the creation of a network
of democratic schools for sharing good practices, including activities
promoting digital skills;
6.2. promote the implementation of the Council of Europe Guidelines
to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital
environment and ensure that the evaluation of the effectiveness
of measures takes place as planned in 2023;
6.3. deliver model guidelines for governing partnerships between
the educational institutions and the private sector, to create a
rights-based, pedagogical and ethical framework and to harness the contributions
the internet industry can make to the education of young people
in schools;
6.4. explore the implications of the use of artificial intelligence
in education, including adaptive learning, learning opportunities
for children with special needs, enhancing inclusive education and educating
young learners about artificial intelligence and other advanced
digital technologies.