UNESCO Digital Learning Week: AI literacy project in Paris
The UNESCO Chair of Communication, Media and Information Literacy and Citizenship (ESCS-UPL/LIACOM) is in Paris, at UNESCO headquarters, for the annual Digital Learning Week conference, this year dedicated to the theme “Education in the age of AI: Facts | Frictions | Frontiers.”
The ESCS/LIACOM UNESCO Chair is represented at the event by two ESCS professors and researchers from the Applied Research Laboratory in Communication and Media (LIACOM): Fernanda Bonacho, chairholder and coordinator of the Master’s Degree in Journalism, and Vera Moutinho, journalist and Journalism professor.
This Thursday, September 10, the researchers took part in a parallel session dedicated to “AI across disciplines in higher education,” alongside colleagues from South Africa, China and Australia.
The Portuguese lecturers’ presentation – “Between familiarity and verification: A pedagogical reflection on AI literacy, disinformation and journalism education” – reflects on the experience of a pilot module implemented in ESCS’s Multiplatform Journalism course, as part of the Erasmus+ AI-HED project (European Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education Teaching and Learning).
The researchers are the only Portuguese speakers at this international event, which brings together 200 speakers from around the world, more than 1,500 in-person participants and thousands of online participants.
This year’s programme focuses on discussions around three key themes in education in the age of artificial intelligence (AI): “what counts as fact in an age of synthetic knowledge,” “how to navigate the frictions AI is generating across education systems,” and “what new frontiers are emerging,” including issues such as “public interest AI” and “digital sovereignty,” according to the website of the conference, which is taking place from September 8 to 11.
The aim of the event is to “support collective sense-making and action to ensure that human agency, equity and the public purpose of education remain at the centre of education futures.”
The Chair team’s participation in UNESCO’s Digital Learning Week has been providing opportunities for networking and exchanging experiences with colleagues from different regions of the world, including Latin America, Africa and Asia. Among other meetings, on September 11 the researchers were invited to contribute to the “Strategy Lab – Shaping UNESCO’s Media and Information Literacy Curriculum for the age of AI,” where guidelines for AI literacy within media literacy programmes will be discussed.
Ministerial Statement for education as a common good in the age of AI
More than 25 ministers and designated representatives responsible for education from around the world attending Digital Learning Week adopted a Ministerial Statement on September 8, calling for education to continue to be upheld as “a human right and a common good” in the age of AI, according to UNESCO.
The Ministerial Statement “acknowledges the profound shifts AI is creating, including changes in how learners think, how teachers exercise professional judgement, and how learning is assessed.”
While AI can bring benefits in terms of access to education and support for students, these advantages are “conditional on deliberative governance, human support and adequate preparation,” the officials state in the document.
“Learning is not served when AI substitutes for human relationships and human judgement,” they emphasise.
The Declaration identifies eight priorities for action, including “restore public-interest conditions for the use of AI in education,” to ensure that AI systems are auditable and subject to public oversight; “protect the development of critical understanding”; “cultivate teacher agency” for the use of AI in their classrooms, through investment in professional development; and “integrate equity and inclusion by design” into AI systems.
Finally, the governments issue three calls of action:
- To AI system providers, “to provide evidence of safety and educational benefits before deployment”;
- To the international community and UNESCO, “to support the education systems where capacity is least developed”;
- To UNESCO, “to continue to convene global dialogues” and “inform policy.”
Public consultation on AI governance in education
As part of Digital Learning Week and discussions about how education systems can respond to technological change, UNESCO has released several documents intended to provide a basis for debate on AI governance in education.
UNESCO invites experts, academics, policymakers and other stakeholders to explore the documents and contribute their perspectives. Contributions can be submitted until October 15, 2026, by email at aied@unesco.org.
The next edition of UNESCO’s Digital Learning Week is already scheduled for March 22–27, 2027.
