What a blast! I had the opportunity to join the panel for the launch of DigiDuck — a special Donald Duck edition focused on digital skills, AI, and online safety.
Why DigiDuck matters
Digital life is evolving fast. For many kids, from a young age, interacting with media, AI, apps, and online content is part of daily life. With that comes opportunity — but also risk. DigiDuck turns that tension into a chance: to help children (and their families and teachers) ask questions, be thoughtful, and become more resilient in the digital world.
My takeaways from the panel
- Real stories, real concerns. Students shared how confusing it can be to know what’s AI-generated or real. These moment-to-moment experiences are what make digital competence concrete (not just theoretical).
- Bridging research and everyday life. It was great to see how educators, policymakers, and researchers are working together to translate concepts like “online safety,” “critical thinking,” and “digital citizenship” into tools that are playful and practical. (I hope this trends continues.)
- The power of reach. Over 1.5 million children in the Netherlands will be reading this special Donald Duck edition. That’s huge. It means these ideas aren’t limited to classrooms or researchers — they enter homes, discussions, and daily routines.
This is just the beginning …
DigiDuck is more than a comic. It’s a doorway. A prompt. A way for conversations to begin:
- About what’s ok or concerning to create/share
- About how we can see through AI-made content
- About the digital choices we all make (as kids, parents, teachers)
For me, being part of this launch reminded me how much excitement and hope there is in this space – how much we can grow together. Thank you to everyone involved: the organizers, panelists, students, educators, and to Donald Duck, for making serious topics feel accessible and fun. Here’s to more tools, more conversations, and a generation that’s not just online, but digitally competent, critically thinking, and confident.