ySKILLS Final conference

The ySKILLS (Youth Skills) research project, which ran from 2020 to 2023, aimed to enhance and maximise the long-term positive impact of the digital environment on various aspects of wellbeing for all children. This was achieved by promoting resilience through the improvement of digital skills.

ySKILLS brought together 16 partners from 13 different countries and received funding from the European Union's (EU) Horizon 2020 programme.

During the ySKILLS final conference held at the Irish College, there were a total of 131 participants in attendance. Among them, 86 were from academia, educational practitioners, and policymakers, while 45 were students from the field of communication sciences at KU Leuven who were interested in the topic. Additionally, 74 individuals from various parts of the world joined the conference via a livestream on ZOOM. In total, the conference reached an audience of more than 200 people on the day when research results were presented and debated.

The conference began with Leen d'Haenens, the coordinator of ySKILLS, extending a warm welcome to everyone and outlining the agenda for the day.

"Through the ySKILLS project, we have uncovered various correlations between different facets of digital skills and indicators of wellbeing. These findings point to a multifaceted relationship between digital skills and wellbeing. Intriguingly, most digital skills did not direclty impact risky experiences. Instead, our analysis suggests that there is an indirect link between digital skills and risky experiences, which is mediated by online activities. "

To access the contents of the ySKILLS final conference, you can use the navigation options available at the top right of the screen. Alternatively, you may choose from the following options provided below for your convenience.