28/07/2026
Day 2 of ICICTE 2026 began with something especially close to our hearts: presenting the work of Kheiron to an international community of educational stakeholders, active mentors, prospective mentors, researchers and community practitioners.
The Kheiron Mentor Training and Dissemination Event was held within Session 3 under the title “Social Mentoring Without Borders: Empowering Young People through Guidance, Inclusion and Well-Being.” It gave us the opportunity to share the outcomes of the project’s mentor-training work and discuss how social mentoring can support young people experiencing vulnerability or facing the risk of exclusion.
Nancy Pyrini of PARAGON‑eduTech presented lessons learned from the Kheiron Training Programme, reflecting on the knowledge, skills and practical support mentors need to build inclusive and supportive relationships with young people. Dr Mariano Sanz Prieto of Fundación Siglo22 then introduced the Kheiron Toolkit for Social Mentoring, presenting its methodological guidance, learning resources, good practices and digital tools for developing effective and sustainable mentoring initiatives.
The presentations led naturally to an open and thoughtful exchange with participants about the needs of mentors and mentees, the challenges encountered in different community contexts and the potential of the Kheiron resources to support both practising mentors and those considering taking on this important role.
The event also demonstrated what PARAGON‑eduTech and Fundación Siglo22 can achieve together—and what a wonderful team we have become. Our collaboration brings together complementary expertise, mutual trust, friendship and a shared commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for young people. We believe that this spirit of cooperation was evident throughout the session. At the same time, we warmly acknowledge the invaluable work of the wider Kheiron partnership: Fundación AYO and the Goethe-Institut have been essential contributors to the project and its outcomes.
The programme continued with Session 4, “Inclusion, Equity and Human-Centred Innovation in Education and Society,” thoughtfully moderated by Professor Emerita Marcie Boucouvalas. Following an adjustment to the conference programme, Dr Marcia Håkansson Lindqvist’s presentation on mother tongue teachers and artificial intelligence was moved to Day 2 and included in the session.
Together, the Session 4 presentations addressed an exceptionally rich range of themes: AI-supported professional development for teachers, barriers to women entering computer science, academic integrity in programming education, resources for student success, accessible workplaces for people with disabilities and the role of augmented intelligence in human-centred learning. Despite their different perspectives, all the contributions shared an important concern: how innovation can serve people, promote equity and strengthen meaningful participation in education and society.
The afternoon workshops, facilitated by Dr Popi Stavroulia, transformed these ideas into direct experience and collaborative creation. Participants first used Virtual Reality to explore accessibility barriers commonly encountered by people with disabilities in workplace environments. They then worked in teams to design immersive educational scenarios addressing wildfire prevention and preparedness, public information, appropriate action during an emergency and post-wildfire response.
AI tools supported the teams in creating graphics, images and early prototypes, but the true value of the workshops lay in the empathy, pedagogical thinking, creativity and collective problem-solving they inspired. Participants did not simply discuss the possibilities of VR and AI: they experienced, questioned and applied these technologies to an urgent societal and environmental challenge.
Our heartfelt thanks go to every presenter, moderator, facilitator and participant who contributed expertise, questions, creativity and openness. Day 2 reminded us that technology becomes educationally meaningful when it strengthens human relationships, advances inclusion and helps people respond thoughtfully and collaboratively to the challenges facing our communities.
Learn more about Kheiron:
https://www.kheiron-project.eu/en/
