The Global Trust Challenge Award celebrates the innovators building a digital world people can trust. As AI-generated content becomes harder to tell apart from reality, this award puts the spotlight on high-potential solutions that protect information integrity. These include tools that trace where content comes from, detect deepfakes, keep AI systems accountable and help citizens of all ages navigate information with confidence.
The award comes from Global Trust Challenge, a coalition effort thta both IEEE SA and DIGITAL SME are engaged in. Together with IEEE SA, the European DIGITAL SME Alliance has selected the most promising European projects from the Challenge.
about the Global Trust Challenge
The Global Trust Challenge (GTC) is a worldwide call to rebuild trust in information in the age of generative AI. It unites governments, industry, academia and civil society around one goal: developing policies and technologies that democracies can adopt so that people can rely on the information they receive.
The Challenge champions safe, high-quality and age-appropriate digital environments that encourage curiosity, learning, informed decisions and civic participation. It pays special attention to the rights and well-being of children and future generations. Selected teams from around the world are now turning their ideas into working prototypes. Each prototype is vetted through a two-stage verification and validation process led by international experts, so the solutions you’ll see at the Summit are proven and ready for pilots.
examples
Content provenance tools that trace the origin and history of digital information
Deepfake detection technologies that identify manipulated or synthetic media
Foundational AI alignment approaches that keep AI systems safe and trustworthy
Civic education solutions that help people of all ages recognise accurate, verifiable information
Agentic governance frameworks that oversee increasingly autonomous AI systems
Age-appropriate digital environments that protect the rights and well-being of minors and future generations
All projects are functional prototypes validated through a rigorous two-stage evaluation process (verification and validation) led by international domain experts.
Deadline: 16 September 2026 // 23:59 CEST
Impact areas
technology
Technical tools that safeguard trust in an AI-mediated information ecosystem, including:
- Content authentication and provenance standards
- Detection of synthetic and manipulated media
- Safeguards against current and emerging information risks
- Trustworthy, aligned and well-governed AI and agentic systems
- Safety-by-design approaches for digital platforms
policy & society
Policy-centric and human-centred approaches that build resilient institutions and communities, including:
- Policy frameworks that democracies can adopt to protect information integrity
- Media literacy and civic education for all ages
- Child-centred design that protects the needs, rights and well-being of minors
- Tools that foster curiosity, learning, informed decision-making and civic participation
- Solutions that connect innovators with international partners to scale pilot-ready innovations
the winners
Agricolus
(Italy)
Future Education Modena
(Italy)
the finalist
Hapster
(France)
IOTA
(France)
Epicode
(Italy)
the jury members
Ken Finnegan
Chief Strategy Officer
(Skillnet Ireland)
Donatella Solda
Director
(Wonderful Education)
Andrei Kelemen
CEO
(Cluj IT Cluster)
1000, Brussels
Belgium
