In November and December 2025, YMCA, in partnership with HP, piloted a new, school-centred approach to digital inclusion, bringing learning directly into classrooms and engaging both students and teachers where it matters most.
By leveraging a robust network of local YMCAs, our joint Digital Equity initiative marked a shift from hub-based access to direct school engagement, ensuring that digital skills, awareness, and safety reached young people and educators at scale.
Taking Digital Upskilling Directly Into Schools
The new approach focused on face-to-face engagement in schools and youth settings, allowing YMCA staff and educators to speak directly with students and teachers about digital skills, online safety, and future-ready competencies.
Between November and December 2025, 16 YMCAs across multiple countries delivered structured activities tailored to local educational needs, while aligning with a shared vision of digital equity powered by HP resources.
Participating countries and locations included:
- Albania
- Kosovo
- North Macedonia
- Moldova
- Romania
- Serbia
- Italy
- Ukraine
Key Activities and Milestones
- 182 educational activities delivered in schools and youth settings
- Direct engagement with students through interactive workshops and discussions
- Sessions designed for teachers, strengthening their capacity to address digital challenges in the classroom
- Use of HP-supported learning resources to promote digital literacy, awareness, and safe technology use
- Strong collaboration between local YMCAs and school communities to adapt content to real-life needs
This hands-on approach ensured that digital learning was accessible, relevant, and immediately applicable for both learners and educators.
Program Impact at a Glance
- YMCAs involved: 16
- Schools & youth settings reached: 112
- Total activities delivered: 182
- Students reached: 94,058
- Teachers reached: 8,023
These numbers reflect not only scale but also the strength of a coordinated network working toward a shared goal of digital empowerment.
Strengthening Digital Equity Through Partnership
By entering schools directly, the initiative removed barriers to access and ensured that digital upskilling reached entire learning communities, including those in underserved or high-need contexts. Teachers were empowered alongside students, reinforcing a long-term impact that extends beyond individual sessions.
This initiative demonstrates how HP’s resources, combined with YMCA’s trusted local presence, can translate into measurable, system-level change.
A Growing Movement for Digital Empowerment
The success of this pilot phase confirms the value of school-based digital engagement as a powerful tool for reaching young people at scale.
Building on this momentum, the YMCA–HP partnership continues to strengthen its commitment to inclusive, future-focused education—ensuring that students and educators across Europe and beyond are equipped with the digital skills they need to thrive.
More stories from our Digital Hubs and school-based initiatives will follow as this approach continues to expand across the network.
