In EU-28, the media literacy field is dominated by NGOs, providing resources (leaflets, videos, curriculum, websites, etc.) for youth, and developing skills like critical thinking and media use. Most of the projects treat young people only as consumers/receivers, who only need to be trained to “protect” themselves from propaganda, fake news, hate speech, etc. Some of the partner organizations have also previously worked on similar projects. But, they also had projects in which young people were involved as media content creators. Based on this experience, the partners concluded that they need to take the media literacy to the “next level”, level based on the following needs: -the need for supporting young people to develop MIL competencies, perceiving them as content creators, expressing opinions, and participating in the public arena; -the need to create cross-sectoral partnerships to support young people to develop MIL competencies in a non-formal context, by helping youth organizations to get more research-based knowledge on young people’s needs, and the relevant teaching and pedagogical input in the field of media literacy from university experts. -the need to uncover and use the potential of youth organizations and youth workers, outside of media literacy field; -the need to support young people to lead their own civic media projects, through professional guidance. The Media Civic Engagers project aims to engage, connect and empower young people and transform them into civic engagers, by enhancing their media and information literacy (MIL) skills through cross-sectorial and innovative open educational tools. The project goal is to improve youth work in the field of media literacy, empowering youth organizations to: -support young people to develop their critical thinking and MIL competencies through media projects in order to engage more with their communities and relevant stakeholders. -support young people to express their opinions through powerful and relevant youth media projects and a European youth media platform, in order to influence policy-makers, decision-makers, CSOs and other relevant stakeholders, but also to be able to play the role of civic engagers. -strengthen young people’s sense of initiative and their civic participation, helping them to put in practice and speak up about their ideas for solving social problems, by learning storytelling techniques, visual storytelling, photography and filmmaking, photo or video-editing, interviewing, designing media campaigns, organizing teams and projects, etc. The main target groups are the youth workers (at least 125) and youth organizations, and young people (approx. 200) interested to develop their MIL & civic competencies and become civic engagers. We will address these needs through innovative educational tools (UNESCO eight MIL competencies framework based): -a research that maps media projects run by young people, but also the young people’s competence level in terms of media participation and civic engagement; -a training curriculum for youth workers on media education and media production tools for civic participation; -a guide for youth organizations on how to develop civic media projects with young people; -a training toolkit to be used by youth workers to develop young people’s specific media & civic skills; -a platform to promote young people’s media projects, but also to promote educational interactive videos to be used in encouraging young people to become more engaged in their communities. The project brings valuable results for partner organizations and their youth workers, young people, other youth workers/youth organizations, and for relevant stakeholders in the field of media and information literacy and youth civic engagement: -The young people will develop their MIL & civic competences, and will be able to better express their opinions by learning powerful media engaging tools and meaningful civic media projects while transforming from civically engaged young people in civic engagers. -The youth workers will improve or/and build up their knowledge, competences and skills, allowing them to develop as professionals in MIL & civic engagement fields for young people; develop the activities and services provided to young people through new and innovative education tools; open their cooperation with the formal education sector, but also other relevant stakeholders. -The partner organizations will be the first to make use of the project’s results to: diversify their services or provide extracurricular activities for young people; increase the professionalization in the field of media literacy, civic engagement, media production tools for civic participation, developing youth media projects, new immersive technology for educational and communication purposes; build up new, or strengthen partnerships especially between the youth sector and the academic sector, but also with other relevant stakeholders from the media field.
The Media Civic Engagers project aimed to bring valuable results for partner organizations, youth workers, young people, and other stakeholders interested in media literacy and civic engagement. The project aimed to develop training curricula, guides, innovative educational tools, and an educational platform to enhance media and information literacy competencies and civic engagement among young people, as well as to develop research. It has offered transnational and local workshops for youth workers and young people, reaching at least 125 youth workers and 100 young people. In accordance with the UNESCO MIL framework we aimed at empowering young people as content creators and civic engagers, providing youth workers with knowledge and skills to support young people in media projects and civic activities. The project aimed to build capacity and promote cross-sectoral cooperation among youth organizations, with the goal of fostering critical thinking and media literacy to strengthen democracy and counter manipulation. Ultimately, the project goal was to enable young people to become active and influential civic participants.
The Media Civic Engagers project addressed the needs of promoting democratic values, increasing youth civic engagement, enhancing media literacy, recognizing and validating youth work, developing cross-sectoral collaborations, and providing training and resources. By empowering youth workers and promoting transnational collaboration, the project aimed to strengthen democracy, counter manipulation and disinformation, and promote active citizenship. It sought to develop research-based knowledge, training curricula, open-access guides, toolkits, and an educational platform to support youth workers in fostering media and civic skills among young people. Through these efforts, the project aimed to broaden and deepen young people's political, civic, and social participation at various levels.