In 2023, 79% of world’s youth between the age of 15-24 were using the internet. The role of education, especially through global and digital citizenship, has become increasingly vital. It has the power to equip all learners, especially the youngest ones, with the skills and competencies to effectively access, critically engage with, create, use and share information and knowledge on and through diverse digital technologies, in particular social media platforms. Tools like UNESCO’s new guidelines for teachers are essential to provide a comprehensive framework for fostering global citizenship through digital literacy. This ensures learners can thrive in this interconnected digital environment.

Global Citizenship Education (GCED) is a strategic component of UNESCO’s work in education that builds upon the groundwork laid by peace and human rights education, with the aim of nurturing in learners the skills, competencies, values, mindsets and attitudes necessary for responsible global citizenship, including the fostering of criticality, creativity, innovation, common humanity and an unwavering dedication to peace, human rights and sustainable development.

Digital citizenship education, a central element of GCED, emphasizes the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to responsibly navigate the digital sphere. By integrating digital citizenship, media and information literacy, and ethics, this publication seeks to prepare learners to contribute constructively to digital communities globally.