Social Innovation Forum 2026
The ESF+ Social Innovation Match lists our AI Literacy & Future Skills Initiative as a case study other regions can replicate. At the Social Innovation Forum 2026 in Brussels it is one of 12 initiatives with its own exhibition room and one of 3 on the main stage.
How selection worked
- Step 1114initiatives nominated
- Step 231in public voting
- Step 312invited to Brussels
- Step 43main-stage spotlights
The classroom exercise: articulation and judgment
Workshops are led by students of FH Upper Austria and Johannes Kepler University Linz, only a few years older than the 12–13-year-olds they teach. Pupils first compare real and AI-generated material, then get the tools to create for themselves. Prompting becomes training in articulation — putting your thinking into clear, precise language — alongside the reflex to verify sources, question outputs and weigh trust.
Brussels: two days at SIF2026
Selected as one of 12 initiatives Europe-wide for the Social Innovation Forum 2026 in Brussels, with its own exhibition room, and one of 3 on the main stage. The forum brings 280+ participants from all EU member states together around evidence, scaling and moving local practice into policy. On 7 October, Hub Leader Dino Osmanagic and Regional Lead Andreas Patuzzi present the initiative in Meet the Social Innovators, moderated by Barbara Willsberger. On 8 October, Dino takes it to the main stage alongside Stefania Andreescu and Anaël Le Bihan.
The case study: reach and transferability
The ESF+ Social Innovation Match case study features the initiative as an approach other European regions can adopt. Volunteer-led and privately funded since 2025, it has reached around 100 pupils, 60 professionals and 20 civil-society representatives through school workshops, community and company formats and hackathons.
1 of 12 initiatives · 1 of 3 on the main stage
- ESF+ Social Innovation Match case study — European Commission
- Twelve social innovation initiatives selected for SIF 2026 — Social Innovation Plus
Press release · Linz/Brussels, 7 October 2026Linz AI education initiative is Austria's only case study at the European Commission's Social Innovation ForumRead the release · quotes included
Students from FH Upper Austria and JKU Linz teach AI literacy in schools. The European Commission lists the model as transferable across Europe and brings the initiative to Brussels on 7 and 8 October 2026.
At the European Commission's Social Innovation Forum in Brussels on 7 and 8 October 2026, twelve social innovation projects from eight member states are presented. Austria is represented by exactly one: the AI Literacy & Future Skills Initiative of the Linz association Young AI Leaders Linz.
The association runs a workshop in the Meet the Social Innovators format on 7 October and gives a keynote on 8 October, both in the main programme. More than 280 participants from all EU member states attend. On site: Hub Leader Dino Osmanagic and Regional Lead Andreas Patuzzi.
Students in front of the class
School workshops are led by students of FH Upper Austria and Johannes Kepler University Linz, only a few years older than the pupils they work with. They teach how AI systems work, how to assess their output critically and how to handle risks such as misinformation and bias.
The initiative has run since 2025, volunteer-led and privately funded. Formats range from school workshops, community formats and company workshops to hackathons and hands-on work with AI tools. So far it has reached around 100 pupils aged 12 and 13, 60 professionals and 20 civil-society representatives.
Practice runs ahead of the frameworks
“In one afternoon in Linz we taught a class of 12 and 13 year olds, and thirty minutes later sat with around 40 experts discussing competence models for the same skill. Neither room knew about the other. Practice is already running ahead of the theory meant to guide it.”
Not a model, but the exercise
“A framework written in 2026 describes the tools of 2026. Someone has to keep it current, and we think that someone is young people, as the ones running it rather than the ones it is run on. So we are not bringing a model to Brussels. We are bringing the exercise, so others can run it themselves.”
Recognised as a transferable practice
The European Commission has included the initiative in the European Social Fund Plus Social Innovation Match, a collection of approaches other European regions can adopt and replicate. It addresses AI literacy as a future skill for employability, social participation and societal resilience.