Digital Civic Incubator Vision
Digital Civic Incubator Vision
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Introduction and strategic context
Introduction and strategic context
The Digital Civic Incubator (DCI) is a nationwide initiative developed in Romania by a consortium of NGOs: the Intercultural Institute in Timișoara, the Techsoup Association, and the School of Values, with support from the Ministry of Education and funding from the Botnar Foundation.
The DCI addresses a fundamental European priority: strengthening digital citizenship education (DCE) and promoting a democratic digital culture aligned with human rights, protection by design, and active civic participation.
The initiative responds directly to the Council of Europe's Roadmap on Digital Citizenship Education (2027-2031)and the challenges highlighted by the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS 2022), in which Romanian students scored below the international average in civic knowledge and democratic reasoning (470 vs. 508). Teachers report a low level of confidence in teaching diversity and inclusion (31%), indicating systemic professional development needs.
The DCI is now in its third year of implementation (2025-2026), providing solid empirical evidence and a scalable model for transforming schools into democratic, innovative, and ethical learning environments in terms of digital and AI.
Long-term vision and impact
Long-term vision and impact
DCI promotes an educational transformation in which schools function as democratic, innovative, and ethical ecosystems in terms of digital and AI, in which:
Students practice democratic participation, critical thinking, and digital responsibility.
Teachers adopt collaborative, reflective, and multimodal pedagogies that support democratic and digital competencies.
School leadership structures integrate shared governance and participatory decision-making.
AI and digital technologies are used ethically, transparently, and inclusively, in line with CoE principles on "human rights and safeguards by design."
Objective:
Creating a national and European model for transforming digital citizenship and democratic culture across the whole school, based on research and scalable across all school systems.
Identified problems
Identified problems
National, European, and international studies show the following:
Low civic and democratic skills among students
ICCS 2022 ranks Romania below the international average, with 25% of students having the lowest levels of competence.
Limited teacher training in digital citizenship, diversity, and inclusion
Only 31% of teachers feel well prepared to teach topics related to diversity and inclusive citizenship.
Lack of school-wide governance models that support democratic culture
ICD project research highlights a gap between classroom innovation and traditional hierarchical school structures.
Emerging challenges related to AI-mediated learning
Schools lack frameworks for integrating AI in ways that respect human rights, transparency, and digital well-being.
The scope of the DCI and achievements to date
The scope of the DCI and achievements to date
In its first 2.5 years (from 2023 to present) , DCI has already had a large-scale national impact:
2,814 teachers trained in digital citizenship, democratic culture, and innovative pedagogies.
39,958 students trained in practicing democratic culture and behaviors centered on digital citizenship.
38 schools undergoing a profound structural and pedagogical transformation.
Ongoing research through the iCercetare initiative, generating publications on democratic schooling, innovative schooling, and AI-based ethical schooling.
Evidence-based classroom practices documented and implemented at the primary, middle, and high school levels.
Active communities of practice and whole-school working groups developed within beneficiary schools.
Transposing the Theory of Change into the Digital Civic Incubator
Transposing the Theory of Change into the Digital Civic Incubator
The Civic Digital Incubator (ICD) theory of change defines how schools can become democratic, innovative, and digitally ethical in the age of AI through systemic, gradual, and participatory transformation. The ICD puts this theory into practice through a set of clear mechanisms, validated pedagogical tools, and organizational processes that work simultaneously at the level of students, teachers, school management, and the community.
The transformation does not remain at the conceptual level—it is implemented concretely through six operational mechanisms, perfectly aligned with the Ilomäki & Lakkala model, the Whole-School Approach, and the instruments of the Council of Europe.
1. Shared vision and participatory leadership
1. Shared vision and participatory leadership
(Transposing the "Vision & Leadership" component of change theory)
ICD begins by facilitating a process in which the entire school community—principals, teachers, students, parents—co-creates the vision of a democratic, innovative, and AI-ethically oriented school.
How to transpose:
co-design sessions to define the school's values and norms,
joint student-teacher-principal councils for important decisions,
strengthening participatory leadership and distributing responsibility,
introducing democratic, student-centered governance.
Impact: the school becomes an environment consistent with democratic values and digital responsibility.
2. Democratic and innovative pedagogical practices applied in the classroom
2. Democratic and innovative pedagogical practices applied in the classroom
(Translation of the "Pedagogical Practices" component)
ICD introduces a set of concrete pedagogical practices, clearly defined in change theory and tested in hundreds of hours of activity:
Democratic practices:
connection
observation
empathic response
recognition of students' needs
collaborative feedback without humiliation
Innovative practices:
metacognition – journals, thinking routines, think-aloud, guided reflection,
multimodality – organizing the classroom into visual and collaborative spaces,
educational dramatization – civic simulations, roles, moral dilemmas,
co-creation and negotiation routines.
Impact: change happens in practice, in daily teacher–student–peer interactions.
3. Developing students' democratic and digital skills
3. Developing students' democratic and digital skills
(Transposing the "Student Agency & RFCDC competences" component)
Change theory states that students must practice democratic citizenship in a real way. ICD creates structures where students:
participate in class and school decisions,
develop digital civic projects,
express their voices in mixed spaces with teachers,
increase their digital resilience and critical thinking,
use AI responsibly for learning and reflection.
Impact: students become active citizens, not passive recipients of information.
4. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) for teachers
4. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) for teachers
(Transposition of the "Professional Community Practices" component)
Teachers are not trained through courses alone. ICD creates weekly professional communities where they:
analyze real classroom interactions,
discuss democratic and undemocratic patterns,
review lesson plans together,
test new innovative practices,
reflect on AI ethics in education.
Impact: pedagogical change becomes sustainable, not episodic.
5. Documentation, research, and systematic reflection
5. Documentation, research, and systematic reflection
(Transposition of the "Knowledge Practices & Evidence-Based Change" component)
ICD change theory states that transformation cannot be done "in the dark." It is guided by:
analysis of classroom interactions,
reflective journals of teachers and students,
longitudinal observations,
case studies,
academic articles,
learning syntheses.
Impact: transformation is evidence-based; schools make informed, not theoretical, decisions.
6. Ethical integration of technology and AI in schools
6. Ethical integration of technology and AI in schools
(Transposition of the "Digital & AI Ethical Ecosystems" component)
ICD change theory includes the digital and AI-ethics dimension as a fundamental part of school culture. This is transposed as follows:
co-creation of an AI code of ethics in each school,
AI literacy for students and teachers,
transparency, explainability, and anti-bias protocols,
routines for reflection on interactions with AI,
digital protection and wellbeing policies.
Impact: the school becomes a safe, fair, and responsible digital space—an explicit requirement in the CoE Road Map.
7. Transformation of the entire school ecosystem (Whole-School Approach)
7. Transformation of the entire school ecosystem (Whole-School Approach)
(Translation of the "Systemic Change" component)
The theory of change states that authentic transformation only occurs when all levels of the school change simultaneously.
ICD applies this principle by:
intervening in vision, pedagogy, leadership, processes, relationships, and digital practices,
aligning all actors (students, teachers, management, parents, community),
creating a common identity of a democratic, innovative, and AI-ethical school.
Impact: the school becomes a coherent ecosystem, not a puzzle of initiatives.
8. Scaling and sustainability (confirming the theory of change)
8. Scaling and sustainability (confirming the theory of change)
ICD is already in its third year of implementation, with systemic impact:
3,814 teachers trained;
39,958 students in the areas of agency, expression, critical thinking, in practicing democratic culture and behaviors centered on digital citizenship; and in the third year (2026) we will develop ethical digital behaviors;
38 schools undergoing profound transformation;
ongoing research;
expanding practice networks;
documented and replicable models.
These results are not just "outputs"; they are proof that the theory of change works.
In the Digital Civic Incubator, the theory of change is not a diagram, but a reality experienced in schools. It is translated into democratic practices, innovative pedagogies, professional communities, organizational processes, and AI-ethically oriented policies. The DCI demonstrates how a school can become simultaneously democratic, innovative, and digitally ethical - exactly the strategic direction proposed in the Council of Europe's Road Map.
Contributinos - Activities - Outputs - Outcomes - Impact
Contributinos - Activities - Outputs - Outcomes - Impact
Contributions
Contributions
Multidisciplinary consortium with national coverage
Training programs, digital resources, and mentoring
Research teams using interaction analysis and sociocultural methodologies
Alignment with CoE frameworks (RFCDC, DCE Road Map)
School partnerships and implementation support from the Ministry of Education
Activities
Activities
Training teachers in digital citizenship, democratic pedagogy, and AI ethics
Training students in digital citizenship, democratic education, and AI ethics
School-wide transformation processes involving leadership teams
Implementation of collaborative and multimodal pedagogies in the classroom
Co-creation labs involving students, teachers, and community actors
Research-based reflection cycles (data collection, feedback, redesign)
Development of guidelines on AI literacy and protection
Community building between schools through joint learning events.
Outputs
Outputs
Thousands of teachers trained
Thousands of students who have undergone transformative educational experiences centered on the Kolb model
Dozens of transformed schools demonstrating new governance, pedagogical, and digital practices
Documented pedagogical models (connecting practices, observation practices, multimodality, dramatization, metacognition)
Research publications and evidence for policy development
Student-led civic and digital innovation initiatives
Global school frameworks for democratic and digital governance
Outcomes
Outcomes
For schools:
Strengthened democratic culture and participatory governance
Digital and AI practices aligned with human rights safeguards
Improved climate of inclusion, collaboration, and shared decision-making
For teachers:
Improved pedagogical innovation and confidence in teaching DCE
Integration of multimodal and reflective teaching practices
Increasing the ability to co-design the learning process with students
For students:
Increasing agency, voice, and participation in school governance
Improving critical thinking, empathy, and digital resilience
Active engagement in civic life and democratic problem-solving
Long term impact
Long term impact
A replicable European model for democratic, innovative, and ethically AI-driven digital schools
A generation of students equipped with skills and values for democratic digital societies
Contribution to evidence-based European policy-making in DCE
Strengthened alignment between national systems and the CoE agenda on digital citizenship
The long-term impact of the Digital Civic Incubator
The long-term impact of the Digital Civic Incubator
The Digital Civic Incubator generates long-term impact not only in participating schools, but also at the level of the education system and democratic society. Thanks to its unique combination of democratic transformation, pedagogical innovation, and ethical integration of technology and AI, the DCI provides a solid foundation for a sustainable democratic culture and for a generation that can responsibly navigate the complexity of the digital world.
Four interdependent levels
Four interdependent levels
1. At the student level – a generation with democratic autonomy and advanced digital literacy
1. At the student level – a generation with democratic autonomy and advanced digital literacy
DCI trains students who, in the long term:
develop deep democratic skills (cooperation, empathy, responsibility, participation),
exercise their voice and agency in real civic contexts,
demonstrate critical information navigation skills and resilience to manipulation, polarization, and fake news,
use AI ethically and consciously, with the ability to assess the bias, credibility, and social impact of technology,
practice collaboration, negotiation, and co-creation—skills required by the European labor market post-2030,
possess the necessary foundations to become active, responsible, and engaged citizens.
In the long term, the DCI contributes to the consolidation of a generation that strengthens European digital democracy.
2. At the teacher level — a reflective, innovative, and resilient professional community
2. At the teacher level — a reflective, innovative, and resilient professional community
The DCI creates the basis for a structurally transformed teaching profession in which teachers:
practice innovative pedagogies (metacognition, multimodality, educational drama),
use interactions and data from the classroom to adapt their strategies,
integrate digital literacy and AI ethics into all disciplines,
adopt a collaborative culture (professional learning communities),
become promoters of participatory democracy in school.
In the long term, ICD strengthens the teaching profession and builds the system's capacity to support the transformation of ethical digital education.
3. At the school level – democratic, innovative, and AI-ethics-oriented institutions
3. At the school level – democratic, innovative, and AI-ethics-oriented institutions
DCI is one of the few models in Europe that transforms the school as an ecosystem, not just the classroom.
Schools become:
safe, inclusive, and child-rights-centered spaces (human rights & safeguards by design),
participatory communities where students are co-creators of school culture and development,
innovative organizations where teachers continuously learn and share practices,
responsible digital institutions with clear AI policies and ethical procedures,
environments where democracy is lived, not taught.
In the long term, DCI produces schools capable of supporting the digital and democratic transformation of Romanian and European society.
4. At the system level – contribution to European educational policies on DCE and AI ethics
4. At the system level – contribution to European educational policies on DCE and AI ethics
Due to its scale (3,814 teachers, 39,985 students, and 38 schools), longitudinal research, and the actual implementation of the Whole-School Approach model, DCI has the potential to influence:
National policies:
guidelines for integrating AI in schools,
teacher training standards,
models of democratic and digital schools.
European policies:
operationalization of the DCE Road Map (2027–2031),
implementation of the RFCDC in digital contexts,
creation of "AI-Ethical Schools Frameworks,"
connecting schools in Europe in a network of democratic and digital practices.
In the long term, DCI can become a European reference model for democratic education and ethical digital transformation in the AI era.
Strategic impact for Europe
Strategic impact for Europe
DCI contributes to the formation of a generation of ethical, critical, and engaged digital citizens capable of strengthening European democracy in the digital world.
The project transforms schools into democratic and collaborative ecosystems, ready to responsibly manage the integration of technologies and artificial intelligence.
DCI provides Europe with a scalable, evidence-based model for the concrete implementation of the Council of Europe's Road Map on Digital Citizenship.
DCI model dimensions
DCI model dimensions
1. Democratic school culture
1. Democratic school culture
Practices of connection, recognition, observation, shared governance, and participation.
2. Innovative pedagogies
2. Innovative pedagogies
Metacognition, multimodal learning environments, dramatization, and collaborative knowledge building.
3. Ethical integration of digital technologies and AI
3. Ethical integration of digital technologies and AI
Transparent, rights-based, and inclusive approaches to AI that enhance, rather than replace, human agency.
4. Whole-school transformation
4. Whole-school transformation
Leadership, teacher community practices, digital resources, and whole-school knowledge practices aligned with a unified vision.
5. Evidence-based development and research
5. Evidence-based development and research
Micro-research (years I-III) that ensures continuous learning, scalability, and policy relevance.
6. National scaling and community building
6. National scaling and community building
Large-scale teacher training and multi-year school interventions that enable systemic change.
The Relevance of the Digital Civic Incubator
The Relevance of the Digital Civic Incubator
for the Council of Europe's initiatives on Digital Citizenship and alignment with the 2027–2031 Road Map
In the context of rapid changes in digital ecosystems, European education needs credible models that can translate the principles of the Council of Europe into real practices at school level.
The Digital Civic Incubator (DCI) represents exactly this type of solution: a comprehensive, replicable, and empirically validated model that operationalizes digital citizenship skills, democratic culture, and the ethical integration of technology and artificial intelligence in education.
The DCI is deeply aligned with the most important CoE initiatives:
Digital Citizenship Education (DCE),
Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC),
AI & Human Rights Guidelines,
CoE Strategy for the Rights of the Child,
as well as the Digital Citizenship Education Road Map 2027–2031, presented at the conference in Slovenia.
1. The ICD is fully aligned with the Council of Europe's Vision for Digital Citizenship
1. The ICD is fully aligned with the Council of Europe's Vision for Digital Citizenship
The Council of Europe defines digital citizenship as the ability of young people to participate actively, responsibly, ethically, and safely in digital spaces.
The ICD operationalizes these areas through real-world practices such as:
developing critical thinking in digital activities,
online and offline civic participation,
collaboration between students in digital projects,
analysis and management of disinformation,
digital wellbeing and online risk prevention,
ethical responsibility in the use of generative AI.
ICD is therefore one of the models that transforms DCE from a strategic document into living practice in schools.
2. Direct mapping on the CoE Road Map (2027–2031)
2. Direct mapping on the CoE Road Map (2027–2031)
In Ljubljana, the Council of Europe presented the four strategic Pathways. The ICD overlaps entirely with each of them.
Pathway 1 — Policy Advancement
CoE goal: to develop policies and tools tailored to national education systems.
How the ICD contributes:
it offers a comprehensive model of a Democratic, Innovative, and Ethical AI Digital School
it includes participatory leadership structures, clear school policies, and ethical codes for AI use
it produces evidence and scaling mechanisms necessary for public policy.
We believe that the ICD can be adopted as a European pilot model for the implementation of digital citizenship policies in national education systems.
Pathway 2 — Awareness and Engagement
The CoE focuses on the involvement of young people, teachers, and communities.
How the ICD contributes:
creates joint student-teacher-principal councils,
allows students to co-create rules, processes, and digital civic projects,
develops a visible, participatory, permanent democratic culture in schools,
has a professional community of over 2,800 teachers (mature, active, capable of multiplying at European level).
Pathway 3 — Education, Training, and Competence Development
The CoE calls for the development of democratic digital skills through real training, not theoretical courses.
How ICD contributes:
intensive training for 2,815 teachers,
personal development focused on democratic culture and digital citizenship skills for 39,958 students,
integrated modules on AI literacy, digital ethics, and democratic skills,
innovative pedagogical practices (metacognition, multimodality, dramatization),
transformation of the authentic whole-school learning community.
Example: teachers analyze classroom interactions and decide on changes together—exactly as recommended by the CoE in the DCE Framework.
Pathway 4 — Learning Environments: Safe, Inclusive and Human Rights-Centred
The CoE emphasizes the need for safe, democratic schools that are centered on students' rights.
How the ICD contributes:
it eliminates humiliating practices and develops collaborative feedback,
it establishes mechanisms for recognizing the needs of each student,
it introduces digital protection policies and AI ethics by design,
it creates participatory, multimodal, and collaborative spaces,
it emphasizes digital wellbeing and online relationship management.
3. DCI addresses the key emerging dimensions identified by the CoE in the AI era
3. DCI addresses the key emerging dimensions identified by the CoE in the AI era
The conference in Slovenia highlighted three directions in which European schools need to adapt:
3.1. Co-creation ecosystems around digital education
DCI has already created:
co-decision councils,
digital civic projects co-created by students,
digital rules established together with students, not imposed.
3.2. Human Rights & Safeguards by Design
DCI includes:
AI ethics codes,
transparency, anti-bias, explainability practices,
digital inclusion for vulnerable students.
3.3. Educational innovation anchored in democratic values
DCI combines:
innovative pedagogy,
democratic culture,
responsible digital transformation in the AI era.
Exactly the triad mentioned in the Road Map.
4. DCI is relevant to the CoE because it offers a COMPLETE model for a "Democratic & Ethical AI School."
4. DCI is relevant to the CoE because it offers a COMPLETE model for a "Democratic & Ethical AI School."
DCI simultaneously offers:
a democratic model (via RFCDC),
innovative pedagogy (Ilomäki & Lakkala + metacognition + multimodality),
ethical AI (according to UNESCO, OECD, EU AI Act),
whole-school approach (WSA),
3 years of scientific evidence.
This is exactly what the CoE calls in the Road Map "digital-democratic educational ecosystem".
5. Concuzion
5. Concuzion
The Digital Civic Incubator is a mature, evidence-based, and scalable model for transforming schools into democratic, innovative, and ethical digital ecosystems, aligned with the strategic directions of the Council of Europe.
The DCI is:
a national implementation model for the objectives of the DCE Roadmap,
a European demonstration site for whole-school transformation
and a contributor to the accumulation of knowledge at the continental level in the field of democratic digital education.
Therefore, The Digital Civic Incubator is a comprehensive model that operationalises the CoE's vision for digital citizenship: a democratic, innovative and ethically digital school, aligned with the RFCDC, DCE, WSA, AI Ethics and the 2027-2031 Road Map.
It is a model that can become:
a European pilot,
a demonstration hub,
a mechanism for implementing the Road Map,
a contributor to European DCE policies,
a platform for European networks of AI-Ethical and Democratic schools.
We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with the Council of Europe in promoting digital citizenship education across Europe.
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