Session 2: Peer Café – Better Your Digital Habits

Session Goal & Learning Outcomes

Today’s goal is to discover ways to open and engage in meaningful conversations with your peers.

After today’s session, you will be able to:

Plan and organise youth events to encourage interactive peer conversations

Explore group dynamics and how to create safe learning spaces

Handle sensitive topics with care and confidence

Our experiences

Can you think of a time when you engaged in a meaningful conversation with someone?
Did you feel confident about how to respond/act at the time, and looking back, do you wish you had done something different?
How do you start a difficult conversation when you can see someone needs help, but you do not know what is wrong?

What is a Peer Café

A Peer Café is an informal, small-group conversation space where young people can:

How a Peer Café Works

Welcome & Topic

A host (peer educator) introduces the topic (e.g., healthy screen time) and the purpose of the café.

Small-Group Conversations

Participants sit in small groups (like café tables) and talk using open questions. Everyone gets a chance to speak.

Rotations / Sharing

Groups may rotate or share key ideas with others to broaden perspectives.

Harvesting Ideas

Groups come together and share insights, highlights, or tips they discussed.

Let’s Brainstorm

Divide into groups of 3-4 people and organise a peer café on a topic relevant to digital habits. Keep in mind that your group will share the idea and steps with the rest of the group at the end.

Define the purpose

1. What is the topic you want to discuss (related and relevant to digital habits of youth) 2.Who do you want to attend the café?

Plan the setting & logistics

1.Where will you host the café 2. How will you facilitate the conversations? 3. Will you include aspirational talkers from the community? 4. Assign the roles – who is doing what?

Advertising

1. Create a plan for advertising the event. 2. What channels will you use - offline/online 3. What content will you use 4. What is the main message?

Design the flow and activities

1. Draft a rough agenda. 2. How do you make sure that sensitive topics are handled correctly? 3. Brainstorm engaging questions and materials. 4. Make sure to think of inclusivity (language, accessibility, digital access).

Feedback & next steps

1. Plan if, and then how to collect feedback from the participants of the peer cafe (e.g. t a short paper form, an online survey, or a short group discussion at the end of the café. 2. Is it a one-off event or a series?

Group Debrief

What do you think of the idea of peer cafe?
Do you think it would be effective among your peers?
What other topics could be addressed with a similar approach?
How would organising this kind of event benefit the peer educator, and how would it benefit the participants?

Let’s share our experiences!

Do you know if there are other similar events organised in your community to highlight and discuss similar issues? If so, share some examples with the group.
Have you ever taken part in a peer or community café – what was your experience like?
If you have not participated, would you like to and if so, what topic are you interested in, and what knowledge, skills or support would you like to gain?

Reflection Time

Reflect on:

What would be the first steps to take to organise a peer café in your community, and who would you do it with, and who would you invite to participate?
What are the topics that feel relevant to you to discuss, and who would you invite to participate?
Did you learn anything about yourself during this activity? Highlight some strengths and possible weaknesses you discovered.

Activity Sheet

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Project Number: 2024-2-PT02-KA220-YOU-000287246