Project

The project With Media Literacy towards Cultural Awareness and Tolerance has the aim to enhance the quality of intercultural education through increasing media literacy on youth (included young people with fewer opportunities) and to know how to use media for increasing soft skills of young people such as creativity, innovation, ability to learn and initiative-taking.  During the activities, focus is given to critical thinking on media and adapted to new conditions where the media have stronger influence on creating reality in youth.

The Idea of the project 

GEMS and InformaGiovani together with all the partners organisation have identified as a major need to increase knowledge about tools and activities that can support the efforts of the youth workers to react against hate speech which have been appearing  mainly on Internet and via all new media. As well as counteracting of widespread culture of intolerance through increasing the competencies of youth workers. Among the aims there is in fact  to provide youth workers  with tools and methods to be competent to enhance the media literacy, critical thinking and cultural awareness of young people. Nowadays, it is essential to enhance the ability of young people to shape their own independent opinion by using critical thinking. 

In order to respond to those needs a multiaction project is going to be implemented within a partnership of 10 youth organizations from: Czech Republic, Italy, United Kingdom, Finland, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Hungary, Latvia and Macedonia. Activities implemented will be

1. Seminar in Czech Republic - in January 2017

2. Training Course  for youth workers in Italy - in April 2017

The objectives of the project are

- to exchange experiences with media education through NFE

- to exchange and create creative attractive tools and methods which will allow youth workers to tackle hate speech,  prejudices and xenophobia spread in new media, increase media literacy of young people and to promote European values as tolerance and respect to Human rights

- to increase participant´s media and intercultural competencies for working in an environment influenced by media and social networks

- to increase competencies of youth workers to lead projects and activities with participation of young people from different cultural and social background and fewer opportunities

-to increase number and quality of the project and activities on the topic of media literacy on local and international level

- to create toolkit with information, experiences, tools and methods which will increase competencies of youth workers to implement activities on media literacy, critical thinking, cultural awareness with young people.

- to promote the use of media to increment soft skills of young people.

Methodologies

During both mobilities, activities are designed with non-formal education methods also using holistic attitude. Participants exchange their experiences, they will gain new knowledge and skills through simulations, role play, exercises, discussions, reflection exercises and group games. All the activities will be adapted to experiences and needs of participants. Activities will support critical thinking of youth about media. Through new approaches the quality of intercultural education will be increased.

Output of the project

A toolkit will be realised with methodologies, tools  activities focused on how to increase media literacy among young people and promote cultural awareness and tolerance.

The publication (TOOLKIT) can be used as a guide for preparation of activities which support intercultural and media education in international projects based on non-formal education methods.

Impact

The main impact of the project is on youth workers. Gained abilities will help them to create activities for basic themes of training independently, to attract new groups of youth and involve them into enlightenment of issue.

Partner organizations and their target groups will also get positive impact from this project. Since their target group consists of youth, yougsters will have a chance to gain new media and intercultural competencies, and participate actively on the thoughts of tolerance and intercultural understanding. As long term impact we believe that this project can contribute to the growth of media literacy of youth thus promoting cultural awareness and tolerance.

With Media Literacy towards Cultural Awareness and Tolerance is a European project supported by ErasmusPlus Programme.​