Thousands of European Students Lead the Way on Digital Wellbeing
21/04/2026
More than 3,000 students from across Europe have taken part in the Skills Upload Jr (SUJ) Challenge, presenting creative, youth‑led ideas designed to support digital wellbeing and promote healthier online experiences for children and young people.
The SUJ Challenge builds on Vodafone Foundation’s long‑term commitment to digital wellbeing. It reinforces insights from the recent Connected Childhood research from Vodafone Foundation and Save the Children, which found that only 1 in 4 (26%) young people rate good or high on new digital wellbeing index and almost half (45%) worry about missing out when offline.
The research highlighted the importance of involving young people directly in shaping the digital world they are growing up in. This year’s challenge invited students to develop solutions that promote digital wellbeing through the thoughtful use of technology.
Submissions reflected the complexity of young people’s digital experiences, addressing issues including screen time, emotional health, misinformation, online safety, responsible device use, digital relationships and the growing role of artificial intelligence.
Students from Albania, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Türkiye have competed in this year's edition of the SUJ Challenge. Along the way, participants strengthened their skills through individual and group training in digital wellbeing, technology, project design and active learning, delivered by volunteers.
The winner of the 2026 Skills Upload Jr Challenge is “CALMify AI” from Greece. The students behind the project identified increasing levels of study‑related stress affecting focus and wellbeing. Their concept proposes an AI‑powered tool that detects signs of anxiety through posture and facial cues, automatically activating personalised calming music to support concentration and emotional balance in learning environments.
The judging panel recognised the project for its strong overall concept and clear relevance to young people’s digital lives. Honourable mentions were also awarded to projects from:
Turkey, for a creative proposal using AI‑enabled camera monitoring to provide personalised, real‑time alerts aimed at reducing screen time. Romania, for a high‑quality technological solution proposing an AI‑enabled app that analyses emotional context, provides personalised guidance and monthly summaries, and alerts parents during more challenging periods. Spain, for clearly defining the digital wellbeing challenge of loneliness and limited emotional supervision, and the difficulties this creates in identifying and responding to early signs of distress.
Together, the projects demonstrate the power of youth‑led innovation in addressing complex digital wellbeing challenges – combining technology with empathy, awareness and peer‑to‑peer understanding.
Lisa Felton, Managing Director, Vodafone Foundation said, “The Skills Upload Jr Challenge shows that young people are not only affected by the digital world – they are shaping it. Their ideas reflect the themes we see in our research, in our classrooms and in our homes. It is vital that we listen to, learn from and include young people when it comes to improving digital wellbeing. As this challenge shows, they have the solutions for the digital world that they are growing up in.”
The SUJ Challenge builds on Vodafone Foundation’s long‑term commitment to digital wellbeing. It reinforces insights from the recent Connected Childhood research from Vodafone Foundation and Save the Children, which found that only 1 in 4 (26%) young people rate good or high on new digital wellbeing index and almost half (45%) worry about missing out when offline.
The research highlighted the importance of involving young people directly in shaping the digital world they are growing up in. This year’s challenge invited students to develop solutions that promote digital wellbeing through the thoughtful use of technology.
Submissions reflected the complexity of young people’s digital experiences, addressing issues including screen time, emotional health, misinformation, online safety, responsible device use, digital relationships and the growing role of artificial intelligence.
Students from Albania, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Türkiye have competed in this year's edition of the SUJ Challenge. Along the way, participants strengthened their skills through individual and group training in digital wellbeing, technology, project design and active learning, delivered by volunteers.
The winner of the 2026 Skills Upload Jr Challenge is “CALMify AI” from Greece. The students behind the project identified increasing levels of study‑related stress affecting focus and wellbeing. Their concept proposes an AI‑powered tool that detects signs of anxiety through posture and facial cues, automatically activating personalised calming music to support concentration and emotional balance in learning environments.
The judging panel recognised the project for its strong overall concept and clear relevance to young people’s digital lives. Honourable mentions were also awarded to projects from:
Turkey
Together, the projects demonstrate the power of youth‑led innovation in addressing complex digital wellbeing challenges – combining technology with empathy, awareness and peer‑to‑peer understanding.
Lisa Felton, Managing Director, Vodafone Foundation said, “The Skills Upload Jr Challenge shows that young people are not only affected by the digital world – they are shaping it. Their ideas reflect the themes we see in our research, in our classrooms and in our homes. It is vital that we listen to, learn from and include young people when it comes to improving digital wellbeing. As this challenge shows, they have the solutions for the digital world that they are growing up in.”