2025/2026 School Year: 50 New Training Courses for the Patentino Digitale (Digital Licence)

Patentino Digitale - Per l’uso consapevole del web e dei social (Digital Licence - For the conscious use of the web and social media) continues for the 2025/2026 school year with 50 new training courses for students. Created within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 and renewed in 2022 between the Regional Communications Committee of Tuscany (Corecom Toscana), the Region of Tuscany, the Istituto degli Innocenti, the State Police - Postal and Communications Police Department for Tuscany and the Regional School Office for Tuscany, the project aims to promote a responsible and conscious use of the web and social networks among young people, combating phenomena such as disinformation, hate speech and online privacy violations.

Thanks to annual agreements with Corecom Toscana, the Istituto degli Innocenti deals with the planning and operational aspects of the initiative, which last year also obtained the patronage of the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority, confirming the relevance of the project in the field of media education. The project envisages two main activities: training courses for students in the first classes of secondary school, aimed at obtaining the Digital Licence; and free online training courses for primary and secondary school teachers, recognised by the Ministry of Education and also available on the SOFIA platform.

Aims of the Digital Licence

The training course aims to provide students with the basic skills to surf the web and social networks safely, consciously and responsibly. A parallel objective is to involve and raise awareness in schools and families, so that they can be educational points of reference for young people. In the 2024/2025 school year, the project involved 1,031 students in the first grade of secondary school, belonging to 50 classes in 13 comprehensive schools in Tuscany. The Digital Licence stands out as an innovative tool in digital citizenship education, addressing central themes such as:

• online communication;
• protection of privacy;
• network security;
• hate speech;
• cyberbullying;
• risks of online interactions.

The training events, lasting a total of 12 hours, are conducted almost entirely online and in real time, providing students with a true “digital gym” to practice using devices and learn the rules of netiquette. A monitoring programme also makes it possible to collect data on students' net usage habits and to evaluate the effectiveness of the course. The journey ends with the award of a digital licence, a tangible symbol of the awareness and responsibility acquired. The project also involves teachers and families, through preliminary information and awareness-raising meetings.

Recipients of the Training Courses

The courses are intended for students in the first classes of secondary schools in Tuscany. Each learning experience also involves teachers and families, who participate in dedicated discussion and information sessions.

Teacher Training Offer

Alongside the courses for students, there is a training offer for primary and secondary school teachers, consisting of four short online courses, free of charge (recognised by the Ministry of Education), also available on the SOFIA platform, covering the key themes of the project.

Participation

Schools wishing to offer the courses for students can express their interest by contacting the administrative office at: info.patentinodigitale@istitutodeglinnocenti.it. Teachers interested in the training offer can instead register directly through the dedicated link in the brochure.

For information: https://www.corecom.toscana.it/internet-e-minori.