In her presentation on 28 January at the online conference for teachers of German as a foreign language – DaFWEBKON 2026 –, Susanna Slivensky, Deputy Director and Head of programmes of the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe, highlighted how the Centre links language education with digital citizenship and democratic culture. Framing language education as a core component of “Education for Democracy”, she explained that plurilingual and intercultural competences, together with critical digital skills, are essential for responsible participation in today’s societies. The ECML’s current programme, Language education at the heart of democracy, supports member states through research-based, practice-oriented projects that focus on teacher education and classroom implementation.
A central focus of the talk was the strong connection between plurilingualism and digital citizenship. According to ECML policy frameworks and Council of Europe recommendations, plurilingual and intercultural education not only strengthens communication and mediation skills, but also fosters ethical action, critical media use, inclusion, and awareness of rights and responsibilities online. Language classrooms are therefore seen as key spaces where learners can develop both democratic and digital competences in an integrated way.
Slivensky presented two major ECML resources: Digital Citizenship through Language Education (E-LANG Citizen) and the ICT-REV database of digital tools for language teaching. These platforms offer teaching guides, classroom tasks, searchable activity banks, and practical tutorials that help teachers integrate digital media, AI tools, and multilingual approaches into their lessons. All materials are openly accessible and designed to support educators in strengthening digital citizenship through language education.
DAFWEBKON Conference
Freely accessible ECML resources