A new cycle in the Youth Dialogue: Focus on European Youth Objective 4, ‘Information and constructive dialogue’

Youth Goals / Mireille van Bremen / CC BY-NC-ND

From 1 July 2026, the 12th cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue will begin, during which Ireland, Lithuania and Greece, as part of their Trio Presidency, will focus intensively on European Youth Objective 4, ‘Information and constructive dialogue’, for the next 18 months.

The thematic focus of the cycle is to be on improving the framework conditions for young people in their digital lives, tackling the challenges posed by disinformation, and strengthening media literacy. Specifically, the youth objective comprises four thematic priorities:

  • Recognising fake news: The EU aims to ensure that young people can recognise and report misleading news, and verify the accuracy of news sources.
  • Recognising discrimination: Young people should be better able to recognise and report hate speech and discrimination both online and in the real world.
  • A culture of tolerant debate: The EU aims to ensure that young people foster a culture of respectful, tolerant and non-violent debate, both online and offline.
  • Access to high-quality information: There should be easy access to age-appropriate information that meets ethical and quality standards.
  • Strengthening media literacy: To serve as a reliable source of information for young people, parents and other guardians, as well as all those involved in the education and training of young people, should possess digital and media literacy skills.
     

A fundamental prerequisite for implementing the European Youth Goal is access to information, to digital spaces where, amongst other things, public opinion is formed, and the digital participation of young people on social media.

At national and European level, there is currently intense debate about an age limit for social media platforms, which runs counter to access to and the right to participate in digital spaces. The EU Youth Dialogue therefore addresses not only (dis)information, media literacy and the culture of debate in both the online and offline worlds, but also, in particular, young people’s right to protection and participation in digital spaces. Further information on age limits on social media platforms can be found available .

Further information on the Youth Objective can be found here.

Themen: 12. Zyklus Youth Dialogue European politics