{"id":5214,"date":"2026-06-14T13:50:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T11:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jambacareers.at\/?p=5214"},"modified":"2026-06-14T13:50:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T11:50:31","slug":"from-strasbourg-with-purpose-soziale-zukunft-verein-at-the-2nd-european-forum-on-digital-citizenship-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jambacareers.at\/en\/from-strasbourg-with-purpose-soziale-zukunft-verein-at-the-2nd-european-forum-on-digital-citizenship-education\/","title":{"rendered":"From Strasbourg with Purpose: Soziale Zukunft Verein at the 2nd European Forum on Digital Citizenship Education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, Iva Tsolova-Kutsarova, co-founder of Soziale Zukunft – Verein zur F\u00f6rderung der Integration behinderter Menschen, had the privilege of participating in the <\/span>2nd European Forum on Digital Citizenship Education<\/b>, held from 27 to 29 May 2026 at the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg. Over three days, more than 200 delegates from across Europe, South America and North America gathered to exchange ideas, share resources and collectively advance the conversation on what it means to be a digital citizen in a rapidly transforming world.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Soziale Zukunft Verein, this was a meaningful opportunity to connect the organisation’s day-to-day work with a broader European dialogue about education, inclusion and the future of work.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Forum Expo: Bringing ARISE into the Room<\/b><\/h2>\n

On the first day of the Forum, Iva took part in the <\/span>DCE Expo<\/b> – a showcase of resources from civil society organisations, governments, research institutions and the Council of Europe itself. Located in the Foyer of the Hemicycle, the Expo brought together a rich collection of tools, publications and projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Soziale Zukunft Verein presented the <\/span>ARISE project<\/b> – the <\/span>AI-Powered Accessibility and Career Guidance Toolkit<\/span><\/i> – a transnational initiative bringing together partners from Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Estonia and Latvia. ARISE is built on a straightforward but urgent idea: that people with disabilities deserve career guidance systems designed <\/span>with<\/span><\/i> them, not <\/span>around<\/span><\/i> them. The team is currently developing AI-supported career frameworks, accessible educational resources and practical tools for counsellors that reflect the realities of the people they serve.<\/span><\/p>\n

The response at the Expo was encouraging. Conversations were substantive, questions were the right kind of challenging, and the first day ended with several new connections ready to be developed into genuine collaborations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taking the Stage: Teaching Professions in the Digital Age<\/b><\/h2>\n

On the third day, Iva had the opportunity to speak as part of the session <\/span>“Teaching Professions in the Digital Age”<\/b>, a session that sits at the heart of Soziale Zukunft’s core work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her presentation focused on the intersection of digital citizenship education, vulnerable groups and persons with disabilities. The central argument was one the organisation lives with every day: accessibility cannot be treated as an afterthought, something bolted on once a system is already built. It has to be a foundational principle from the very beginning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Iva spoke about the structural barriers that people with disabilities face when trying to participate in learning and labour markets on equal terms \u2014 barriers that rarely appear as single, isolated obstacles but accumulate across every stage of the journey, from education and training through to recruitment and onboarding. The core message was that addressing one barrier while leaving others in place is rarely enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

She also spoke about what works. Small, intentionally mixed training groups. Hybrid learning formats that allow participation regardless of geography or health condition. Lived experience in the room – trainers and programme managers with disabilities themselves bring a quality of understanding that no theoretical framework can fully replicate. And ARISE as an ongoing attempt to move these ideas from conversation into functional, tested tools. The project is being built from the ground up with accessibility and disability inclusion as its foundation – combining AI-supported career guidance frameworks, practical tools for counsellors, and accessible educational resources designed around the real experiences of people with disabilities, career advisors and employers alike.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Digital Citizenship, the Future of Work, and the People Being Left Behind<\/b><\/h2>\n

One of the themes running through the entire Forum was the changing nature of work – and it is something Soziale Zukunft thinks about constantly.<\/span><\/p>\n

AI is not simply replacing jobs. It is restructuring them. New roles are emerging in data management, accessibility technology, AI systems oversight and digital services. At the same time, existing roles are changing in ways that require continuous adaptation. The question is not whether technology will evolve – it will, and quickly. The question is whether the systems supporting human participation will evolve with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the groups Soziale Zukunft works with, the stakes of this question are particularly high. People with physical, sensory, intellectual disabilities and chronic illnesses already navigate labour markets that were not designed with them in mind. Now those labour markets are becoming increasingly digital-first. Candidates need to understand how applicant tracking systems work. They need to know how to present themselves in ways that survive algorithmic screening before reaching a human recruiter. They need AI literacy not as a bonus skill but as a basic requirement for participation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Digital citizenship education matters precisely because it addresses this gap – not just technically but socially. It builds the confidence, critical thinking and navigational skills that allow people to participate in digital environments as active agents rather than passive users. Without targeted support, the distance between technology’s pace of development and the inclusion of vulnerable groups will not close on its own. It will widen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Building Bridges, Not Workarounds<\/b><\/h2>\n

The work of Soziale Zukunft Verein is not about creating parallel systems for people who cannot access the main one. It is about changing what the main system looks like – working with employers to make their recruitment and onboarding processes genuinely accessible, training individuals in ways that prepare them not just for today’s jobs but for careers that will continue shifting, and co-creating solutions with the people most affected by exclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n

The DCE Forum was a reminder that this work is part of a much larger conversation happening across Europe and beyond. From classroom tools to policy frameworks, from government guidance to NGO-led initiatives, there is a growing recognition that digital inclusion is not a niche concern. It is a structural challenge that requires structural responses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Technology will continue evolving. The real question is whether inclusion will evolve with it – and that is not a question technology answers by itself. It is up to educators, organisations, policymakers and employers to make sure the answer is yes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Soziale Zukunft Verein returned from Strasbourg with renewed partnerships, new conversations in progress, and a clearer sense of where this work fits within the wider European effort. If you would like to learn more about ARISE or explore collaboration opportunities, the team would welcome the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n



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Last week, Iva Tsolova-Kutsarova, co-founder of Soziale Zukunft – Verein zur F\u00f6rderung der Integration behinderter Menschen, had the privilege of participating in the 2nd European Forum on Digital Citizenship Education, held from 27 to 29 May 2026 at the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg. Over three days, more than 200 delegates from across Europe, South […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":5209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jambacareers.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5214"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jambacareers.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jambacareers.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jambacareers.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jambacareers.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5214"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jambacareers.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5215,"href":"https:\/\/jambacareers.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5214\/revisions\/5215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jambacareers.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jambacareers.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jambacareers.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jambacareers.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}