The project is a 17-month initiative, carried out jointly and coordinated by 5 youth non-profit and non-governmental entities from 5 countries of the European Union (Greece, Portugal, Italy, Hungary, and Spain) with a long history in working with young people at international level and with an outstanding level of experience and knowledge in the use of non-regulated and participatory methodologies. The main aim of this project is to improve media literacy and thinking competences among youth workers and NGO leaders, to enable them and their peers and colleagues to promote, organize and implement new educational (social, cultural) activities to disseminate both competences, using new settings and formats and by the means of NFL and ICL methodology. To be capable to read and interpret the different media and to communicate in a positive, constructive and non-violent way (out of fear, hate, and discrimination), we need to understand not only the meaning, relevance and benefits of critical thinking but also the different types of thinking (lateral, logic, systematic, negative, positive), not only because they are used by the media, but also because thinking, reflection, and feedback are a basic element of any non-formal and intercultural learning process. General project objectives are: 1. To develop a more holistic understanding of media literacy and thinking competences and its connection, as driving forces to build more inclusive, participatory, and peaceful societies, as part of the culture of peace and nonviolence and as a relevant source of lifelong learning. 2. To promote non-formal and intercultural learning as a valid methodology for the recognition, development, and validation of both competences. 3. To build the competences of the teams of each organization, including youth workers (managers, educators, journalists, volunteer leaders, multipliers), so that they can improve their work through their development, as a way to empower other young people, including young leaders, professionals, and individuals with fewer opportunities, who are victims of discrimination, hate speech and other forms of violence, taking place both online and offline. The project will have a positive impact on the 21 youth workers who will participate in international mobility activities (two meetings and one course), including the 5 national coordinators and members of the national teams responsible for carrying out the local activities. Throughout the project, each entity will interact with other entities (at least 4), with which it will meet, plan, and carry out joint activities (such as the preparation of multiplier events or follow-up actions). The project has positive impacts on the people who participate in the various activities (minimum 10 activities with the participation of at least 80 young individuals in total), inside of the promoter entities (35 in total), in a number of youth workers in the different cities and countries and in a significant number of public and private entities in each country participating in the 5 multiplier events (100 people at least in total). It will empower young people to be more respectful and empathetic when expressing themselves and their views, opinions, thoughts, and life experiences.
The objectives of the project have been maintained throughout its duration. The general objectives are: - Recognize and give value to media literacy and thinking skills as two driving forces to build more inclusive, just, peaceful, and sustainable societies, as relevant sources of continuous learning, and as triggers for the active participation of young people, as well as their close relationships. -Promote non-formal and intercultural learning as a valid framework and methodology for the development of said competencies. -Collect and build new innovative educational resources that promote both skills in a European-level framework and widely disseminate the manual created and tested by the entities themselves throughout the project, in association with other entities and partners in the field of their exercise. We see these objectives as possible solutions to the various challenges related to the lack of media literacy and reading skills and critical analysis of the media, as well as thinking, both in general and specifically (systemic, creative/lateral).
This project exists to create new tools that serve to help as many youth organizations as possible to focus on two skills that we consider to be of great value and importance. The selection of 2 specific competencies, despite their complexity, serves as a strategy to draw attention and raise awareness about their value and helps us to create activities, tools, and techniques that can be used by other entities, so that they integrate these competencies into their activities. The needs related to the acquisition, improvement, and recognition of these competencies are obvious to us and we must refer to the digital, social, and educational context, such as the oversupply of information and the extensive use of digital technologies. Thinking is a capacity whose potential is far from the contents of regulated training and we consider it absolutely necessary to make known different ways of thinking that can open up new opportunities for creative, innovative, disruptive, and entrepreneurial thinking that allows finding solutions and answers to complexity and difficulty of the challenges that affect young people and society as a whole.