This week, young representatives from school student unions from across Europe have come together in Budapest for a study session organised jointly with the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU). The study session,  titled “CYBER ACTIVISTS: Understanding digital rights in the artificial intelligence era” is a five-day long activity aiming to discuss digital rights and explore the different ways in which developments in the field of artificial intelligence impact their lives and their education.

 To bust some common myths around artificial intelligence, the study session welcomed independent expert Ron Salaj, who talked about the historical development of these technologies, and gave examples of ways in which they can challenge access to human rights. The group of participants also had a chance to engage with Zia Perko Rogelj from the Advisory Council on Youth about the recent policy developments in the Council of Europe.

 A new toolkit for digital advocacy in school student unions will be co-created by the participants of the study session. It will focus on young people’s access to digital rights in the school environment.

 At the Youth Department, we are delighted to work with OBESSU on such a contemporary topic such as AI. This partnership is even more special as OBESSU celebrates 50 years of defending school student rights this year!