International collaboration on the issue of algorithmic vulnerabilities among migrant youth

The DIGcapabilities project investigates how digital inequalities manifest in the lives of youth facing the risk of social exclusion. The event brought together researchers from several countries, including Norway, the United Kingdom, Austria, the Netherlands and Portugal, with the main goal of deepening the discussion on digital inequalities and algorithmic risks manifest in the lives of young people with migrant backgrounds.

The first day was dedicated to project management meetings, where research progress, collaborative data analysis, and planning for future publications were discussed. Central to this session was the collaborative analysis of qualitative data.

Through collective reading sessions and open dialogue, researchers engaged in comparative discussions across countries — identifying both shared patterns and culturally specific dynamics in how algorithmic systems intersect with migration experiences. The interdisciplinary nature of the team, including scholars from media studies, migration studies, education, sociology, and public administration, enriched the analysis by bringing diverse theoretical lenses and methodological sensitivities to bear on the material.

On the second day, a public workshop was held for the academic community, featuring contributions such as those by Maria José Brites and Teresa Sofia Castro on migrant youths’ fears regarding algorithms, and a presentation by the Local Support Center for the Integration of Migrants, which addressed community strategies for digital inclusion. From the University of Groningen, Cigdem Bozdag, presented her research on migrants’ youth perception of algorithms in an educational context. Other researchers, such as Gilda Seddighi, Rebecca Radlick, and Benedicte Nessa from NORCE, shared studies on algorithmic vulnerabilities in Norway.

Their work examined how these vulnerabilities impact access to online services, shape levels of digital literacy, and influence how families perceive and interact with generative artificial intelligence. Scholars from the Open University shared insight from PRIME project on the impact of digitalised services on minority ethnic (ME) groups across the UK. The study investigated how minority ethnic communities experience online harms in the context of key public services in health, energy and housing that are moving online.

The event reflected a growing and urgent interest within the academic and policy communities in understanding how algorithmic systems are increasingly shaping the social, educational, and cultural experiences of young people in migration contexts. From social media feeds and school digital tools to automated decision-making in welfare services, these systems influence how migrant youth access opportunities, express themselves, and are perceived by institutions.

According to the project coordinator, Gilda Seddighi, “digital inequalities can no longer be studied without considering the role of algorithms.” Her statement emphasized a paradigm shift in how researchers approach digital disparity: moving beyond issues of simple access or digital literacy, toward a deeper critique of how algorithmic design and deployment can reinforce socio-digital inequalities.

She also highlighted the critical role of family dynamics and intergenerational experiences, noting that young people's digital practices are also shaped by the memories, values, and constraints inherited from their families — particularly those shaped by histories of displacement, violence, or exclusion. Understanding these interactions requires looking not only at the individual user, but at the broader relational and cultural ecosystems in which digital practices unfold.

This perspective set the tone for many of the workshop’s discussions, pointing toward the need for holistic, context-sensitive approaches to algorithms — ones that center the lived experiences of youth and their families, and that build from interdisciplinary and cross-cultural knowledge. The workshop concluded with the presentation of a plan for a future joint publication, consolidating the international research network that gathered at University of Lusófona.