Post by Eurodesk Brussels Link

Sometimes messy journeys lead to beautiful destinations! 🏆 We brought home not one, but two awards at CIOST 2026! We joined communication officers from National Agencies across Europe at the annual Communication and Information Officers Staff Training (CIOST 2026) in Larnaca, Cyprus! This year's theme: "How can communication officers shape the next programming period?" - with a strong focus on future skills, organisational readiness, and AI integration. Luca Gottifredi from our team led an Open Space session on making websites AI-friendly, diving into SEO, Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), and the ethical use of AI in youth information, drawing from the Eurodesk Guide on the Use of AI in Youth Information Services. 🎤 But the real plot twist came at the CIOST Awards Luca took the stage with a pitch called "The Friday Night Tech Nightmare". An honest, humorous, and very relatable account of the chaotic launch of the new Eurodesk website, complete with unexpected caching issues and a Cloudflare crisis. The takeaway: Sometimes messy journeys lead to beautiful destinations! The crowd agreed. We walked away with: 🥇 Best F*ck-Up Award 🥇 Best Pitch Award A huge thank you to Foundation for the Management of European Lifelong Learning Programmes and SALTO Resource Centres for co-organising such an inspiring event, and to all the brilliant communication professionals we had the chance to connect with. More info about the event: https://eurodesk.eu/zu00 #eurodesk #CIOST2026 #ErasmusPlus #YouthInformation #Communications #AI #GEO #SEO #EuropeanYouth