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950 young people in the audience, thousands of students in classrooms throughout Poland and Ukraine during DIGITAL YOUTH FORUM 2023 which took place on June 6 in Złote Tarasy shopping mall in Warsaw.

This was the 8th edition of DYF dedicated to the creative use of new technologies, online security and a conscious use of social media. The Forum was available free of charge for students at secondary schools and primary school grades 7-8 and translated into Ukrainian and sign language. The partner of the event was Warbud Foundation - Warto Pomagać, which has been supporting valuable educational initiatives since it was established.

‘The world with its rapidly developing technology gives the young generation unlimited opportunities to develop their passions, interests, knowledge, interpersonal relations and social activities. I wish you that you could use this opportunity to the maximum, but also wisely. I hope that what you will hear and see during the Forum will inspire you to become even better people using the internet and new technologies in a responsible and positive way to build your future,’ said Agnieszka Wąsowska, Member of the Management Board of the Warbud Foundation - Warto Pomagać, addressing the young people during event opening.

Young participants had an opportunity to listen to extremely inspiring speeches. The speakers were among others an artificial intelligence specialist - Pamela Krzypkowska, crisis interventionist - Tomasz Bilicki, football and tiktok enthusiast - Łukasz Chwieduk, ambassador of body positivity - Martyna Kaczmarek, and activists from the East! Initiative - Dominika Lasota and Wiktoria Jędroszkowiak.

Dopamine Cinema

In addition to lectures and workshops, the event consisted of the premiere of the documentary 'Dopamine'. Its authors have created an attractive material for young people, full of interesting scenes, animations and reflective statements, without didacticism or patronizing. Its greatest asset were the protagonists - young people sharing their own experiences which caused lively discussions and thoughts among DYF participants.

‘This is not a movie about the internet being bad saying that we should stop using it. Nor that anyone should feel guilty of using it... The question is what to do so that we can control the technology, not the technology could control us,’ explains one of the heroes in the first scenes of the film.

Young people do not know the world without access to the Internet, they have been using smartphones since childhood. They are active in social media, establish relationships, learn and look for entertainment on the web. They often spend more free time online than offline.

'Dopamine' presents the mechanisms at the neurological, psychological and social level, which make the use of social media, games and applications a problem for teenagers. This is a film showing the benefits of the online world and what they should better look for away from the screens.

The media patron of DYF was Rzeczpospolita daily, Radio TOK FM and "Głos Nauczycielski.”