Youth Connect: Digital Citizenship and Misinformation Resilience Training
The dynamic and immersive training program "Youth Connect: Digital Citizenship and Misinformation Resilience," organized to equip students with essential digital literacy skills, successfully launched its first day on December 5, 2025. Hosted at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), the program engaged participants across four designated cluster rooms, bringing together a diverse group of students eager to navigate the digital world with integrity and awareness.
In an era where information overload is the norm, this training offers students pivotal knowledge on how to distinguish fact from fiction, understand their digital footprint, and communicate with empathy. The benefits extend beyond the classroom, preparing these future leaders to become responsible digital citizens capable of fostering safe online communities.
The event was facilitated by a team of dedicated experts who guided students through the day's rigorous schedule. The sessions were led by Syeda Sadia Mehejabeen (Senior lecturer), Usama Rafid (Lecturer), Dewan Shahnoor Alam Shahnoor (Lecturer), Riaz Uddin Khan (CQS Coordinator), Zulker Naim (Coordinator of Center for Qualitative Studies), Tahseen Nower (Lecturer), Md. Aminul Islam (Senior Lecturer) and Rydwanul Islam (Fact Checker, Fact Watch).
The day commenced at 9:00 am with a warm welcome and an introduction to the Safeguarding Policy, establishing a safe space for open dialogue. This was immediately followed by the innovative "In-boxing Letters" activity at 9:30 am. In a move to break digital barriers, participants wrote anonymous letters on blank paper using prompts from a circuit, exchanging thoughts without revealing their self-identity. This exercise highlighted the profound human need for connection beyond the screen.
At 10:00 am, the session "Setting the Scene for Learning: Tree of Expectations" transformed the room into a visual landscape of goals. Participants identified their existing skills as "roots" using orange sticky notes, while mapping their desired learning outcomes as "leaves" on pink sticky notes. As one facilitator noted, "To grow resiliently in the digital age, we must first understand the roots of our own skills and the heights we wish to reach."
Following a networking Tea Break at 11:00 am, the sessions delved into self-reflection with "My Identity: Physical vs. Digital" at 11:30 am. Students were challenged to draw a human figure, inscribing their core physical traits—such as being "Kind," "Friendly," or "Honest"—inside a heart, while writing their digital personas—such as "Avg use" or "Introvert"—on the body outline. This powerful visual underscored the disconnect often found between who we are and who we project online.
The afternoon sessions, resuming after Lunch at 1:00 pm, shifted focus to analytical skills. At 2:00 pm, the "Two Truths and a Lie" activity engaged partners in detecting deception through observation. This naturally transitioned into the 2:30 pm session on "Think Critically: Fact,
Opinion & Observation." Participants analyzed statements such as "The population of Bangladesh is over 170 million" (Fact) versus "Journalists should never express personal views" (Opinion), learning to rigorously verify information before accepting it as truth.
The day's learning culminated at 4:00 pm with a deep dive into "Logical Fallacies & Cognitive Biases." Students examined concepts like Confirmation Bias, defined in the session as "Seeking or valuing information that supports pre-existing beliefs while dismissing opposing evidence".
The event concluded with a reflection session at 5:30 pm. This training serves as the foundation for the upcoming Community Action Projects (CAP), where students will apply these insights to design real-world solutions for their communities. The enthusiasm shown by the ULAB students on Day 1 promises a transformative journey ahead.
