Digital well-being and online safety is an increasingly important knowledge domain for pupils, teachers, parents and carers, as digital technologies and online environments play a growing role in the lives of children and young people.

To support digital well-being, European Schoolnet is coordinating a new Erasmus+ funded project digi.well – A whole-school approach to well-being in a digital world.

Furthermore, the EC-funded Better Internet for Kids (BIK) (2025-2027) initiative will continue to constitute a major building block of the digital well-being and online safety activities developed by European Schoolnet and its ministries, through the ongoing 24-month Better Internet for Kids contract.

Each of these projects and initiatives align with ongoing legislative and regulatory developments at EU level, such as the Digital Services Act (DSA), which have a significant impact on children and young people's well-being in a digital world. Such regulatory development contains provisions and targeted measures to better protect minors online, recognising systemic risks which may stem from the design or functioning of online platforms and services, which intentionally or unintentionally may exploit the weaknesses and inexperience of minors or cause addictive behaviours.

As such, European Schoolnet will contribute – directly or indirectly – to emerging political priorities and upcoming actions, protecting the mental health of children and young people online, combatting the growing trend of cyberbullying and abusive behaviour online, or unethical techniques used by online platforms and services.

 Resources

Expert views

European Schoolnet conducted interviews with experts in fields relating to digital well-being and online safety. The videos are available here.

Watch the EUN Interview with Marco Gui of the University of Milano-Bicocca on why he challenges the norm of young people being constantly connected:

Watch the EUN Interview with Kristiina Tammisalo of the University of Turku on how digital tools impact younger children:

 

 

Watch the EUN interveiw with Villano Qiriazi, Head of the Education Department at the Council of Europe (CoE) about how digital well-being is defined in the CoE:

 

 

 Projects

Better Internet for Kids (BIK) (2025-2027)
The European Commission's Better Internet for Kids (BIK) (2025-2027) initiative, underpinned by the BIK+ strategy, brings together a broad range of actions and stakeholders to create better and safer digital experiences for children and young people. An important mechanism for expanding the reach of the initiative is the network of Safer Internet Centres, which are dedicated centres in different countries that run local campaigns and provide content and resources in local languages. The centres are comprised of an awareness centre, a helpline, a hotline and youth participation services. The BIK platform hosts curated resources and dedicated learning corners for teachers and educators, parents and caregivers, and children and young people. The initiative also coordinates the Safer Internet Day campaign that is celebrated around the world every February. The BIK core service platform and related activities are managed by European Schoolnet, coordinating the Insafe network of awareness centres, helplines and youth panels, in partnership with INHOPE (International Association of Internet Hotlines), dedicated to the removal of illegal online content. These combined strands are commonly referred to as Safer Internet Centres, operating in EU Member States, Iceland, Norway and the UK to keep children and youth safe online.

 

 

Digi.well
The digi.well project aims to foster a whole-school approach to well-being in a digital world, building upon an in-depth understanding of the needs of children, young people, teachers and a wider range of school professionals, while developing and implementing a set of self-assessment, capacity building and outreach tools.

 

 

PERMA-Digital
The PERMA-Digital project aims to develop and implement an innovative whole-school systemic programme for well-being in digital education, assessing its impact through mixed methods and experimentations across European countries and validating its potential to be mainstreamed. Coordinated by EUN, the PERMA-Digital project will be based on a research-driven pioneering framework to be designed, pairing principles of Positive Education, Positive Psychology, Digital education and Digital and Life Competencies. The proposed framework will target the purposeful integration of technologies in teaching, learning and assessment for student well-being and the development of both teachers' and students' skills to benefit from digital technology use, while handling the associated risks and challenges.

 

 

WINDEE (Well-being in digital education ecosytem)
WINDEE (Well-being in digital education ecosystem) is a European Commission funded project which focusing on enhancing digital well-being in European education by developing a comprehensive framework. The well-being of students and educators in digital education is crucial. This policy experimentation project addresses the lack of understanding, strategies and coordinated policy efforts in this area. The project will build on evidence, create solutions and conduct experiments to refine and implement systemic policy changes. A strong partnership of universities, schools, policymakers, networks, and EdTech experts, enhances the project's capacity to address the complex challenges of digital well-being in education.

 

Events

 

As part of the European Year of Digital Citizenship Education 2025, the Council of Europe and European Schoolnet hosted a webinar on 6 November 2025 called ‘Well-being online and the voice of young people'. The event explored how schools, families and policymakers can work together to promote well-being – both online and offline – while sharing best practices and amplifying young people's voices.

Learn more here.

 

 

 

We recently hosted the School Innovation Forum 2025 in Lisbon, under the theme 'Digital well-being in schools: from awareness to action'. Watch the wrap-up video here, or read all about the forum and access the speaker recordings.