Final Conference | YouNDigital Project

YouNDigital – Youth, News and Digital Citizenship final conference brought together project researchers, consultants, and both national and international guest experts. This gathering marked the conclusion of a journey of research and intervention, promoting the sharing of results, reflections, and best practices on media literacy, civic engagement, and the challenges of digital citizenship among young people.

The YouNDigital Final Conference took place on March 26 and 27 at Lusófona University – Porto Campus and featured the participation of national and international researchers discussing news consumption practices and young people's relationship with digital citizenship.

On March 26, the opening session was led by Maria José Brites, Teresa Sofia Castro, and Margarida Maneta, representatives of YouNDigital, who welcomed attendees and presented the project framework. The session included the presentation of results from a representative survey conducted from January to October 2023, involving 1,362 young people aged 15 to 24 in Portugal. Professors Ana Oliveira and Vítor Tomé also joined to highlight the main findings.

The second panel, titled “Youth and the News”, was moderated by Marcel Broersma from the University of Groningen, with contributions from international experts Lynn Schofield Clark (University of Denver), Irene Costera Meijer (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), and Nick Newman (Reuters Institute). Discussions focused on the challenges of youth engagement with traditional news, the transformation of the digital ecosystem, and how younger generations consume information.

On the second day, the panel "YouNDigital and Project Partners" brought together researchers from various initiatives. These included the Beyond Fact-checking Project with Lúcia Mesquita (Lusófona University – Porto Campus), and MigraMediaActs with Rosa Cabecinhas, among other partners. The session explored interdisciplinary collaboration and the relationship between media, identity, and digital citizenship.

The final panel, moderated by Marisa Torres da Silva, featured Denise Mensonides, Joëlle Swart, and Stina Bengtsson, who reflected on the complexities of news consumption among younger audiences. The closing session was led by Maria José Brites and Teresa Sofia Castro, who emphasized the importance of further research on the influence of algorithms and datafication. Additionally, the Foundation for Science and Technology has granted an extension to the project, to be developed through the end of the year.

Photography
Catarina Machado

Video (Coverage)
Catarina Machado

News
Sofia Pereira