15 Apr Celebrating the real impact of All Digital Weeks 2025 on digital inclusion!

15 Apr, 2025

On Friday, 11 April 2025, the closing event of the campaign opened with an inspiring message from Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission — a powerful reflection on why digital inclusion and skills remains a top EU priority.

Virkkunen highlighted how, during the three weeks of the campaign, All Digital significantly contributed to a shared European goal: boosting digital skills across Europe. As life becomes increasingly digital, educating digital citizens is not optional — it is essential. The Union of Skills, unveiled on 5 March 2025, demonstrates that skills are at the top of the Commission’s agenda. It offers a clear roadmap — uniting education, industry, and policy to train 20 million ICT specialists and ensure that 80% of adults have basic digital skills by 2030.

She also emphasised that tackling the digital and gender gaps isn’t just the ethical thing to do — it’s smart policy. Through new academies and youth competitions, we’re empowering the next generation, and success depends on working together.

A clear message from Henna Virkkunen that we will carry forward: “There is no digital future, no truly digital society without the right digital skills.” This powerful statement set the tone for an event filled with celebration, reflection, and renewed commitment to action.

All Digital’s CEO David Mekkaoui welcomed the participants with a powerful mission statement:“Imagine a Europe where every citizen has the digital skills to thrive in an increasingly digital world and to fully embrace creativity, productivity, and well-being. That’s the vision driving All Digital”.

Altheo Valentini, President of All Digital, followed with a strong call to sustain the momentum of the campaign by joining the event live from their Intergenerational Digital Fest in Foligno showcasing the real impact of the campaign events on the ground.
This was an event where 80 kids from Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria, together with educational professionals and senior learners from Poland, Greece, Spain, Hungary and Italy had the opportunity to explore the world of stop-motion animation and co-designed short cartoons.

The energy of the opening was high.

 

 

Expert debate: Voices of digital inclusion

The expert debate moderated by Selin Tagmat, Head of European Communications at All Digital, brought together leaders from the European Commission, Microsoft, and All Digital to explore how we can truly advance digital inclusion across Europe—not just in theory, but in practice:

• Georgi Dimitrov, European Commission, Directorate-General for Education and Culture, emphasised the importance of moving beyond consultation to true co-creation. He shared how the Digital Education Hub connects practitioners with policymakers — ensuring initiatives like AI education guidelines are shaped by real-world insights. Digital transformation, he noted, must treat digital skills as fundamental as reading and mathematics.
• Andreea Calbeaza, Senior Manager, Government Affairs, Microsoft, spoke about the power of collective action, the human impact of digital inclusion, and Microsoft’s commitment to building trust in technology. From accessibility to AI literacy, Calbeaza highlighted the need for public-private partnerships to ensure no one is left behind in Europe’s digital transformation.
• Peter Palvolgyi, COO of All Digital, reminded us that grassroots stories are at the heart of the campaign. All Digital plays a vital role in bridging local communities with EU policies, ensuring that voices from the ground are heard at the highest levels. From supporting informal learning spaces like libraries to co-shaping EU frameworks, this bridge is crucial.

 

Selin Tagmat, wrapped up the debate by tying together all the points addressed:  co-creation, partnerships between policymaking, industry and civil society, and building long-term trust in technology by integrating inclusiveness at the beginning of any technological development process. It’s about ensuring that the digital transition is inclusive, responsible, and human-centred. From hackathons to policy development, digital inclusion is everyone’s responsibility. And bridging the gap between grassroots realities and high-level strategies is not optional—it’s essential.

Awards ceremony: Campaign events with most impact

The awards ceremony concluded the event with an inspiring celebration of grassroots movement for digital inclusion across Europe. Five powerful case studies highlighted creativity, resilience, and impact. These initiatives were selected for their outstanding contributions to each of All Digital’s focus areas:

Access to Digital
Austria – ICDL Teacher Education
A local initiative tackling digital exclusion and ensuring everyone has access to digital tools and opportunities.

Digital Upskilling
Latvia – Hello Future Hackathon
A team of young girls from different cities collaborated remotely in a hackathon to promote gender equality in tech. Their message: “Girls can code — and have great ideas too!” The event showed that peer learning, teamwork, and inspiration can come from sisters, friends, and classmates alike.

AI & Emerging Technologies
Cyprus – FIRST® LEGO® League Cyprus 2025
A public technical school empowered 200 young participants through robotics, coding, and teamwork. The event promoted AI awareness, environmental responsibility, and participation in international digital initiatives — demonstrating that age, gender, or background should not limit digital access.

Digital Well-being
Czech Republic – Národní finále kybersoutez.cz
An initiative promoting digital well-being through a large conference and AI training workshops for educators. It offered methodological support and encouraged responsible, safe technology use — a collaborative effort involving academia, government, and civil society.

Digital Skills Policy
Italy – Digital Empowerment in Healthcare and Health Events
With over 200 participants, this initiative engaged citizens in discussions on digital health, rare diseases, and data rights. It bridged patients, policymakers, and technology, emphasising digital health literacy and the importance of inclusive regulations.

David Mekkaoui concluded: “What all these initiatives have done deserves a big stage.” And that’s why the winners were rewarded with a trip to Malta to join the All Digital Summit 2025.

Just before closing the event, David highlighted that these winners represent a movement — not just a policy. The campaign reached out to over 65.000 people through more than 700 events: From rural schools to coworking hubs, from trainers to legal champions — this community is shaping a more inclusive digital future.

Digital inclusion is a movement — strong bridges between skills, innovation, and opportunity!