The first day of EDEN Porto AC 2026 began with a warm Welcome Reception, bringing together members of the EDEN community to celebrate collaboration, innovation, and the shared commitment to advancing digital education.

A highlight of the evening was the presentation of the EDEN Fellow and EDEN Senior Fellow Awards 2026. As a result of an open consultation launched with the EDEN Fellows Council, and following the EDEN DLE Management Board vote of February 18, 2026, the following EDEN members are awarded EDEN Fellow and EDEN Senior Fellow Awards (in random order):

EDEN Fellow Awards

Carlo De Medio (University Roma Tor Vergata, Italy)

Carlo De Medio is a researcher at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and a qualified Associate Professor in Experimental Pedagogy. As a member of the EDEN NAP Steering Committee, he has strengthened the EDEN community by helping shape dialogue across webinars, Open Education Week sessions, and conference action labs on AI, assessment, and innovation in education. His work connects digital learning, critical thinking, museum education, and immersive technologies, fostering collaboration between research and practice. Through international projects, moderation roles, and scholarly contributions, he actively supports EDEN’s mission of inclusive, ethical, and future-oriented digital education across wider Europe and beyond.

Ronan Bree (Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland)

With a background in Biochemistry, Ronan Bree is now a Senior Lecturer at Dundalk Institute of Technology’s Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. He is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Senior Certified Member of the Association for Learning Technology, and a recipient of the DkIT President’s Award for Established Research Excellence in Learning and Teaching. Since 2025, he has served as a Management Board member of EDEN Digital Learning Europe, actively supporting its initiatives, including the Digital Education Leadership Academy (DELA). Ronan advocates for digital technologies to enhance access, learning, teaching, and assessment, and has held leadership roles on major national projects such as the UNESCO-recognised ‘National Resource Hub’ and the €40 million N-TUTORR initiative.

Senior Fellow Award

Sally Reynolds (Media and Learning Association, Belgium)

With a background in Educational media production in Ireland, Sally has been involved in European collaboration in the area of innovative use of media for more than 30 years. She is one of the founders of the Media & Learning Association, the MEDEA Awards and a long-term collaborator with many members of the EDEN community. In recent years she has been particularly involved in media education and digital and media literacy and continues to actively contribute to European and other cross-border initiatives and projects in this area. From her early experiences as a radio producer, she has witnessed the many ways in which media has changed and become a significant force in our daily lives. As a commentator and sometimes campaigner, she believes in deep-rooted media education from an early age and in putting human-centred dialogue and democratic values at the heart of all our work in the education sector.

EDEN congratulates all award recipients and celebrates their valuable contributions to the EDEN community and the wider field of digital education.