As of January 2026, Digital Moment’s 2025 Digital2030 Challenge reached more than 136,000 youth across Canada, with 107,965 in English and 27,593 in French. Launched in November 2025, the challenge focused on the environmental impact of artificial intelligence and invited young people to think critically about how technology can support climate action and clean energy.

Each year, the Digital2030 Challenge engages youth in hands-on digital learning aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The 2025 edition, How Sustainable Is AI?, focused on SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy, inviting participants to explore how AI systems consume energy and how more responsible design choices can reduce their environmental footprint.

As artificial intelligence becomes more widely used, its energy and resource demands are growing. The 2025 Challenge was designed to help youth understand these trade-offs and explore how AI can also be used to support solutions like smart energy grids and more efficient technology systems.

By connecting artificial intelligence to SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), the Digital2030 Challenge empowers youth to think beyond technology as something they use — and instead see it as something they can shape responsibly. The strong bilingual engagement this year shows a growing national interest in learning how innovation and sustainability can go hand in hand.

Participants took part in an interactive simulation where they acted as AI engineers, making choices about hardware, datasets, cooling methods, and energy sources to balance performance with environmental impact. The Challenge was supported by classroom guides, coding activities, and curated learning resources for youth and educators across Canada.

‍