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Description
We will increase the media competences of the youth, so that they value and respect the role of the media in a democratic society, discern facts from opinion, deconstruct media messages and interact responsibly with the social media. The youth will be able to critically consume media and acquire a higher immunity to the antidemocratic effects of the disinformation. The Romanian schools are not prepared to develop these abilities and the Romanian state has no preoccupation whatsoever for ML. Instead, the educational process is centered on delivering and reproducing theoretical information, not on critical thinking or correlation of teaching with the daily lives of students. The project brings a systemic development of ML at national level, via multiple intervention avenues: the training of 120 Romanian language teachers who are to infuse ML elements to at least 12.000 students, as well as the development of a model intervention aimed at NGOs active in non-formal education. Actions: 1. Support for all the partners to increase their ML capacity to deliver ML nationally (training and exchange of experience); 2. Support for teachers of Romanian language (high schol level), by implementing a model of professional training : accredited course (6 sessions), offline mechanisms for support and advancement (meetings with journalists, guide of good practices, national conference on ML),online events (2 webinars, 5 videos/podcasts), monitoring and evaluation tools. 3. Expanding ML capability to organizations active in youth and non-formal education, by offering a collaboration model (training, mentorship, practical teaching, designing a course module) 4. Preparing the partners for further growth, by consilidating their teams (training in leadership) and diversifying the propoter’s sources of revenues (at least one fundraising campaign) 5. Communicating the project (webiste, social networks, teaching platform, visibility products, media articles, 1 video presentation).
Summary of project results
False news, political polarization, and misinformation are increasingly prevalent in public discourse. This poses a threat to democratic mechanisms, trust, and civic participation, with political discourse becoming more aggressive. In addition, the Romanian state lacks a systematic approach to media education, critical thinking, or integrating education into daily life, and schools are ill-prepared to develop these skills.
Overall, the project focused on training teachers in order to equip them with the necessary skills to integrate media literacy elements into their classroom activities, engaging students - through the trained teachers media literacy elements were infused into day-to-day classroom activities to help students become more resilient to misinformation, fostering international exchange between the Norwegian and national partners and the project promotor, extending media literacy initiatives to non-profit organizations and local communities, and ensuring visibility through communication efforts. These activities aimed to equip both teachers and students with the skills and knowledge to navigate the media landscape effectively and critically.
The project achieved several results for both intermediate beneficiaries and final beneficiaries and other various stakeholders. 115 Romanian Language and Literature teachers were trained so to acquire skills in media education in order to itegrate media literacy elements into their classroom activities, enhancing their ability to teach critical thinking and combat misinformation. Teachers received ongoing support to effectively implement media education activities in the classroom, ensuring sustainability and long-term impact on students'' media literacy skills. In their turn, teachers reached 12030 students preparing them to better navigate the media landscape and make informed decisions.
In addition, the project included a working visit to Norway for trainers to understand how media literacy elements are integrated into teaching practices and provided media literacy training to employees and volunteers of the local partner organization, Rădăuțiul Civic, and non-formal media literacy workshops for high school students.
Summary of bilateral results
The donor project partner, Norsensus MediaForum, provided expertise and support in implementing the project''s activities. They were responsible for training activities and sharing their experience in media education, enriching the project''s outcomes.