The main goal of the project is to empower adults with news literacy and critical thinking (NL&CT) skills using innovative, engaging, and accessible learning approaches. By doing so, the project aims to help citizens become informed, responsible participants in democratic society and to reduce the spread and impact of disinformation. Main objectives of this Project wеrе: 1. Development of innovative game-based learning and assessment methods for adults in news literacy and critical thinking education – creation of educational content and tools: two board games and an online platform 2. Improving the human and educational resources of 4 partners, associated partners and other stakeholders Europewide to actively educate citizens in news literacy and critical thinking by using game-based learning method 3. Promoting project’s results on the local, national and European level.
We applied for this project to address the growing need for improving adults’ news literacy and critical thinking skills, which are essential for combating disinformation and fostering informed democratic participation. Research such as the Media Literacy Index (2022) shows that partner countries like Serbia, Bulgariа, and Turkey are among the most vulnerable in Europe to fake news, while adults remain largely excluded from existing media literacy initiatives that mainly target youth. Through our previous project (ESSENTIAL), we identified that although educational content on news literacy exists, there is a lack of engaging, practical, and multilingual tools for adults. Both educators and learners expressed the need for more active and enjoyable learning methods. Therefore, this project introduces game-based learning—through educational board games and an online platform—to make learning interactive, accessible, and effective. By doing so, we аim to empower adults to critically evaluate information, strengthen their civic engagement, and promote social inclusion across Europe.