From the roots of the past to the age of AI: digital citizenship

From the roots of the past to the age of AI: digital citizenship

The opening slide sets the frame: rights, duties and shared European values in the digital world. The speaker is Assist. Prof. Dr Kadir Tohma, Department of Computer Engineering, İskenderun Technical University.

Tools have changed; the rules of living together are being rewritten

Throughout human history the meaning of belonging has changed. Today a new digital society is being built beyond physical borders. Tools shift in five steps; at each step the rule of living together is rewritten.

• Prehistoric ages — survival and the first community.
• Agricultural revolution — the first social rules.
• Industrial revolution — traditional citizenship, rights and laws.
• Computer age — unlimited communication and digital networks.
• Artificial intelligence and today — new norms and digital citizenship.

How the idea of citizenship changes in the age of digital transformation

To exist in the digital world is no longer only a technical skill. It is a basic life competence and a form of social existence. The idea is read in three stages.

• Traditional citizenship: a structure built on geographical borders, physical participation and local duties.
• Transition: wider internet access and one-way consumption of information.
• Digital citizenship (today): an ecosystem in which borders recede, active participation is expected, and digital rights become human rights.

Being able to use technology is not enough to make us citizens

The lecture places three figures side by side. The digital citizen in the Council of Europe vision is not the person who only uses a device.

• Traditional citizen: subject to physical borders; follows local law; participation stays in a geographical circle.
• Digital user (consumer only): consumes technology passively; is unaware of security, privacy and ethics; accepts content without question.
• Digital citizen (Council of Europe vision): uses technology with care, ethics and a critical eye; is an active, cross-border participant in digital society; takes responsibility and respects the rights of others.

Are you only using it, or do you live there?

The trainer leaves this question in the room. Digital citizenship is the difference between consuming the network as a tool and standing in it with rights, duties and belonging.

Four cornerstones of digital citizenship in the Council of Europe vision

Digital citizenship sits at the core. The four stones are knowledge, skills, attitude and values. The outer ring names the Council of Europe grounds: human rights, democracy, the rule of law, pluralism and cultural diversity.

• Knowledge — understanding the digital world and its tools.
• Skills — critical thinking and using technology well.
• Attitude — open-mindedness and respect.
• Values — commitment to ethical principles.

In the age of disinformation and AI, our greatest weapon is critical thought

Fake news, deepfakes, generative AI and information pollution pass through a hopper. The hopper is named the critical filter. In the era of generative AI, the task is not only to reach information, but to tell truth from bias and to judge reliability.

• Questioning the source — a culture of verification.
• Algorithmic awareness — seeing the structure behind decisions.
• AI literacy — the European Commission DigComp approach.

Our online actions have a deep echo in the real world

At the centre stand digital ethics and our decisions. Impact grows in three rings. Council of Europe education resources treat the fight against hate speech and cyberbullying as a first priority for safe digital spaces for young people.

• Individual impact — empathy and digital courtesy: do not forget the hearts beating behind the keyboard.
• Social impact — preventing cyberbullying and confronting hate speech.
• Cultural impact — tolerance against online discrimination, and the building of intercultural communication.

Our digital footprint is the silent reference of our future chances

Search, share, like, location, comment — each step is cut into identity. The lecture gives three warnings.

• Permanent traces: every step online is engraved in our digital identity, even when we believe it has been deleted.
• Effect on the future: social-media posts are a record of reputation that shapes academic and professional life.
• Conscious management: the habit of thinking before sharing is the safest insurance for digital identity.

Protecting personal data is the first line of defence of our digital existence

Personal data sits at the centre. Defence is built in three practices.

• A culture of strong passwords: multi-factor authentication and account security.
• Privacy control: managing app permissions and settings for location and photo sharing.
• Cyber awareness: staying alert to phishing and manipulation.

Digital freedom without responsibility turns into digital anarchy

The scale rests on a point named balance. One pan holds rights; the other holds duties.

• Digital rights: freedom of expression; privacy and the confidentiality of data; access to information and networks.
• Digital duties: respect for the rights and reputation of others; ethical and lawful conduct; awareness of legal responsibility.

Democracy is no longer shaped only in the square; it is also shaped on digital networks

Youth stand at the base. Three columns rise above them. Active participation is written as a Council of Europe core area.

• Active participation — young people taking a direct part in social life through digital tools.
• E-democracy — informed participation in democratic processes, votes and digital campaigns.
• Social responsibility — making a positive change through digital volunteering.

Beyond digital borders we are building a common European identity grounded in tolerance

The network joins countries like a map. Belonging is built in three sentences.

• Dialogue across borders: digital spaces bring young people from different countries onto the same platform, around shared aims.
• Breaking prejudice: the chance to meet other cultures directly removes stereotypes and discrimination.
• European belonging: shared European values — solidarity, tolerance, human rights — strengthened by digital bridges.

DigComp — the European Digital Competence Framework

DigComp is a reference framework that names the knowledge, skills and attitudes people need to use digital technologies safely, critically and competently in daily life, education and work. It was developed by the European Commission. It holds 21 competences and eight proficiency levels, from foundation to highly specialised. It underpins education policy, self-assessment tools and employment projects.

• Information and data literacy: searching, filtering, evaluating and managing data.
• Communication and collaboration: interaction, sharing and citizenship through digital channels.
• Digital content creation: making text, image or code, and managing copyright.
• Safety: putting devices, personal data, privacy, health and the environment first.
• Problem solving: fixing technical problems, naming technological needs and producing creative solutions.

Digital citizenship is not the duty of one institution; it is the shared duty of society

Youth stand at the centre. Around them are the stakeholders: public authorities and civil society, universities and the academy, schools and educators, families. The Council of Europe approach requires these stakeholders to work in one coordinated frame, not each on its own.

• Public authorities and civil society: policy, legal protection and infrastructure.
• Universities and the academy: pedagogical research and advanced DigComp strategies.
• Schools and educators: basic digital literacy and ethics.
• Families — the stakeholder in the home.

From our project to Europe: Digital Citizenship Culture in European Community

DCCEC is the project slide of the lecture. Aim, partnership and learning outcomes stand in three cards.

• Aim of the project: under the lead of Hatay Governorship, to raise young people’s digital skills, intercultural communication and democratic participation to an international level in the Erasmus+ vision.
• Goal and partners: with partner countries across Europe, to develop lasting practices that strengthen the digital belonging of young people and educators.
• Learning outcomes: a culture of working together, the transfer of innovative good practice, and a lasting curriculum base for digital citizenship.

The first principle of our project and of the European vision: leave no one behind

A bridge runs from digital deprivation to digital society. The chasm under it is the digital divide. Educators walk that crossing.

• Closing the digital divide: placing technology as a universal right, not a privilege.
• Equal opportunity: full access to digital tools and training for disadvantaged groups.
• Inclusive transformation: digitalisation moving on a fair ground that includes everyone and leaves no part of society outside.

How should the digital citizen of the future be?

The question slide opens the list that follows. The trainer asks for a profile that holds technology and humanity at the same time.

The digital citizen of the future manages technology and does not give up humanity

Digital citizenship is the art of remaining human while mastering technology. Five qualities are named.

• Digitally competent, and a lifelong learner.
• Puts algorithms and artificial intelligence through a critical filter.
• Knows personal boundaries, rights and legal duties.
• Respects difference online and practises empathy.
• Upholds Europe’s shared democratic values on digital networks as well.

Path and shield: safety, AI, a green trace

The lecture draws the path of the future with three signs. Artificial intelligence is examined with a lens; safety and the human being are held as a shield; the digital trace is kept green and sustainable.

• Question the tool and the AI.
• Make a shield of safety, privacy and empathy.
• Keep digital growth respectful of the environment.

From mosaic to algorithm: many voices

The last word is a many-sided view, set against those who look for one colour, one voice and one truth.

• Whoever takes Hatay for a single colour misses Hatay. Hatay is not one neighbourhood, one language, one kitchen. The stones stand side by side; the ground is shared. Whoever looks for one colour cannot see the mosaic.
• Whoever takes Europe for a single voice misses Europe. Europe is not a choir; it is a harmony. Different languages, different memories, shared rights and shared law. Whoever looks for one voice misses the ground.
• Whoever takes the feed for the only truth misses citizenship. An algorithm shows you one direction. The digital citizen asks for the source and looks for the other stone as well.

Thank you

Close: Digital Citizenship Culture in European Community. Shared work of Türkiye and the European Union under Erasmus+.