Connected Minds

In Romania, many young people live in constant insecurity. This also applies to young people who leave the child protection system or come from disadvantaged backgrounds and who have little chance of receiving psychological support. At the same time, they are just as present in a digital environment increasingly shaped by AI. In Austria, young people usually have early access to digital tools, but they face performance pressure, perfectionism and a culture of comparison. The growing time spent on screens and social media deepens the feeling of insecurity more and more.

A survey we conducted with 43 young people from both countries shows the gap between use and competence: 95% are familiar with generative AI, 75% actively use it, but only 17% feel confident verifying the credibility of information produced by AI. Almost half describe the effect on their own well-being as mixed or unclear, and 30% regularly turn to AI for emotional support in moments of stress. Connected Minds steps in exactly here: the project links critical AI literacy to mental health, digital autonomy and mutual support, and creates a transnational space in which these different but connected realities become visible.

Connected Minds is aimed at a group of 20 young people aged 18 to 25 from Romania and Austria, especially young people who have had less access so far to educational opportunities or digital creation. The enrolled young people will take part in a 5-day camp near Vienna, where they will meet to learn and exchange ideas on these topics, together with the three partner organizations, Stabil im Kopf, The Social Incubator and Womentor. In the end, they themselves will develop, in international teams, their own awareness campaigns. In this way, they can become multipliers and bring the topics of AI literacy and mental health closer to other young people.

After two online info sessions, 20 Youth Leaders will be selected, ten from Austria and ten from Romania. In February 2027 they meet for the five-day Youth Co-Creation Lab in Austria. There they will explore topics such as bias and manipulation, data protection, algorithms, digital self-image and the question of when AI supports us and when it creates additional pressure.

September 2026: project start and preparation by the partner organisations

October – November 2026: info sessions and application phase — selection of the 20 Youth Leaders

February 2027: five-day international Co-Creation Lab in Austria

February – June 2027: mentoring, peer learning and campaign implementation

June 2027: presentation and publication of the results

You don’t need to be an AI expert. What matters are your perspective, your questions and your desire to build something together with others. You will learn to understand digital systems more critically, strengthen your own strategies for digital wellbeing and become a voice for a more conscious relationship with AI. The results are set to reach more than 5,000 young people and will also be made available to other organisations across Europe.