Parents of all cultures wish for their children to grow up safely and healthy, and to be successful in school. 3,7 million children are born in Europe every year, growing up into a world brimming with different media that will influence their development. From our view, this is the greatest challenge in the history of education, combined with the permanent task of preventive engagement. The European parliament appealed 2012 for a systematic training for parents and for an exploitation of all possibilities to protect children in the digital world. That is why parents are the direct target group of @home. The need for trainings for parents in Europe regarding their own media literacy, but especially the media education they give to their children, is increasing transnationally. Not only do children and young people feel at home in digital worlds and find an ever-increasing complexity of online-worlds and possibilities, but also does this consumption stay out of the parent`s reach and control. Furthermore, many parents lack the necessary knowledge about media and media literacy. Children recognize quickly that they outmatch their parents in this area. This can lead to conflicts within the family, if parents feel helpless and resign because they fail in setting boundaries for their children. These permanent areas of conflict will influence the family life. Consequently, there is a growing need for trainings for parents, but the type of support they require seems to change. People do not attend evening info sessions anymore, but use online lectures. Why? Because they don’t have to leave home and get in the car, and they don’t have to find and pay a babysitter. Parents can attend online lectures very easily and stay anonymous, which might be helpful with sensitive topics. Another advantage of digital teaching material is its responsiveness to different requirements, experiences and interests of the learners. With digital media, learning can be organized more active and individual. Parent education in Europe should be more and more free, not bound to fixed contexts, and, with new media, independent of time and place. Implementing the project “@home”, we are facing this task in a consortium consisting of BE, BG, GR, SI and DE, including politicians, local authorities and parents themselves, working on two levels: On the one hand, imparting technical knowledge and skills, on the other hand developing a critical and reflecting use of digital media. To combine both, and make it a part of media education in the family, is the goal “@home” wants to reach. We are expecting the following outcomes: 1. A web-based App “Education@home”, consisting of multilingual counselling for parents in 7 languages including Arabic and English, with the following features: Educational films to support the parent´s own critically reflected use of media Teaching aids imparting basic competences A virtual monthly meeting of experts 2. An integrated monthly storage for questions 3. Five round tables with stakeholders and closing symposium in Brussels. The state of research, approaches and experiences are different within Europe. That is why we need transnational learning through professional exchange when looking for approaches to complete this task. Implementing “@home”, we are actively participating in structuring the European topic of “media literacy education”. The shared vision of fostering media literacy in parents will soften up traditional, culturally shaped concepts of education and make room for a new kind of intelligent and holistic learning experiences. Since media literacy is a very fast growing but relatively new phenomenon in Europe, there is a clear need for concepts of prevention. A political advisory board, chaired by Eckhart Pols, will be a door opener and provide successful dissemination of all outcomes of the project. This way we make sure that this educational topic will have lasting effects on families all over Europe.
Parents of all cultures are interested in ensuring that their children can develop well, learn successfully at school and grow up healthy. Every year in Europe, over 3.7 million children are born into a densely populated media world, whose development involves an unstoppable media influence. From our point of view, this is the greatest challenge in the history of education, combined with a constant task of preventive debate. The European Parliament is also aware of this; it has already called for 2012: "to exhaust all possibilities in protecting children in the digital world and to systematically train parents". Parents are therefore the direct target group in @home. The need for European parental education with regard to their own media competence, but especially their media education, is growing across borders. Children and young people today are not only at home earlier and earlier in digital media and find more and more complex online worlds and possibilities. It should also be emphasised that, unlike in the real world, consumption is beyond parental control and parents today often have little media knowledge and media competence. Children quickly realise that they are superior to their parents in this area. A family problem develops in view of the failure of resigned parents to set limits and the increasing helplessness experienced, which as a permanent field of conflict has an impact on family life. Although this increasing need for parental education exists, the form of support that parents need seems to be changing. Parents' evenings at schools are declining and online seminar rooms are in demand. Why? There is no need to travel to school and additional childcare does not have to be financed and organised. Anonymity is given, which can be helpful especially for sensitive topics. Digital learning materials also have the advantage of being able to respond to the increasingly different prerequisites, experiences and interests of learners. With digital media learning can be made even more active and individual. Parental education in Europe today should therefore increasingly take place freely, i.e. in non-institutionalised contexts and, since the possibility of learning with new media, also independently of time and place. With the implementation of @home, involving politics, the community and parents themselves, we in a consortium of AT, BG, GR, SI and DE are facing this sustainable educational task with a double strategy, which on the one hand builds on the teaching of instrumental-qualifying skills, and on the other hand uses above all a critically reflected approach. The declared aim of "@home" is to combine both and integrate them into the social context of media education in the family. The following results were achieved in the implementation: 1. systematic exploration as a needs analysis: what form of support do parents in Europe need, and on what issues? 2. a multilingual digital parents' consultation in the form of a web-based APP "You, Media and Me - YouMMe" in 7 languages including English with the following features: - 12 educational films to support the parents' own critically reflected handling of media - Working materials to teach basic skills. Originally, a monthly meeting of experts was also planned, which could not take place as planned due to the special situation during the Covid 19 pandemic. Instead, an additional "Dictionary" was created in which important terms of media education in the Länder were collected and explained to parents. 3. monthly question memory: frequently asked questions from parents, answered by the team 4. The originally planned five stakeholder round tables and the final symposium in Brussels could not take place as intended. They were partly conducted virtually, the final symposium was adapted and held as a hybrid event in Graz. The research situation, the view and the experience in Europe are different, therefore we need transnational learning in professional exchange, in search of possible solutions. With the implementation of "@home" we are actively shaping the European cross-sectional topic: "Media Literacy Education" through interpersonal, intercultural and social competences in Europe. Since this educational topic is still very young due to rapid growth, we have a lot of catching up to do in Europe in the field of prevention. A political project advisory board under the direction of the patron Eckhart Pols will open doors and ensure the transfer of all results in the project. In this way, we will ensure that this social education topic has a lasting effect on families.