On 6 October 2026, Future Needs, together with the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR), organised a practical training seminar on health literacy at the Home for Cooperation in Nicosia, Cyprus. The event brought together teachers, youth workers and educators to explore how to help young people critically assess online health information, recognise disinformation and develop essential digital skills.
The seminar was organised as part of Health-Lit, an Erasmus+ project working to strengthen young people’s health literacy and their ability to navigate an increasingly complex online information landscape.
From understanding young people's needs to practical training
Since its launch in 2025, the Health-Lit project has placed young people’s experiences at the centre of its work. Through a survey conducted across Cyprus, Lithuania, Croatia, Italy and Bulgaria, project partners gathered insights from approximately 250 young people about their experiences and challenges with online health information.
The findings highlighted four priority areas: mental health, sexual health, nutrition and body image, and addictions and peer pressure. They also reinforced the need to equip young people with the skills to evaluate information critically and make informed decisions about their wellbeing.
These findings, together with discussions from the international VOYS event held in November 2025, contributed to the development of HeaLinc – an interactive training programme combining health literacy, media literacy and digital skills.
The seminar in Nicosia was an opportunity to bring this work into a local educational setting and explore how educators can apply these approaches in practice.
Health Literacy training seminar for educators in Nicosia
Since its launch in 2025, the Health-Lit project has placed young people’s experiences at the centre of its work. Through a survey conducted across Cyprus, Lithuania, Croatia, Italy and Bulgaria, project partners gathered insights from approximately 250 young people about their experiences and challenges with online health information.
The findings highlighted four priority areas: mental health, sexual health, nutrition and body image, and addictions and peer pressure. They also reinforced the need to equip young people with the skills to evaluate information critically and make informed decisions about their wellbeing.
These findings, together with discussions from the international VOYS event held in November 2025, contributed to the development of HeaLinc – an interactive training programme combining health literacy, media literacy and digital skills.
The seminar in Nicosia was an opportunity to bring this work into a local educational setting and explore how educators can apply these approaches in practice.
Health Literacy training seminar for educators in Nicosia
The afternoon combined presentations, discussions and hands-on activities, encouraging participants to reflect on the challenges young people face when navigating health information online.
Following introductions from Future Needs by Egle Joneliunaite and AHDR by Doğa K. Avseven, Eliz Arter led “F for… Fact or Fad?”, an interactive session inviting participants to distinguish facts from common myths and discuss how misleading information spreads online.
Kyriaki Daskaloudi from Future Needs then introduced digital tools for managing disinformation, focusing on practical ways teachers and students can verify online information.
The seminar concluded with a collaborative workshop, “How can we take this topic into class?”, where educators discussed and co-created approaches for integrating health literacy into their teaching and educational activities.
Keep learning online
Want to explore these topics further? The HeaLinc online training programme, co-developed by Future Needs and Health-Lit project partners, is now available!
The course includes five self-paced modules covering health literacy, online disinformation, digital skills and practical ways to support young people. Future Needs developed the module on organising online health awareness campaigns.
Register for the HeaLinc Programme and select your preferred language
