SLML - Service Learning for Media Literacy
Project Number: KA210-YOU-5DBA5A00
The SLML project has been funded with the support of the European Union under the Erasmus Plus programme under the Small-scale partnerships in youth in the field for a duration of 18 months, from 15/05/2023 to 15/11/2024
OUR VISION BEHIND THE SLML PROJECT
The concept of media literacy is becoming more important nowadays, as social networks are being used not only for communication, but also as a main source of news. Life is very fast nowadays and instead of reading an analytical article in a newspaper, people tend to get the same piece of news from a relatively short Facebook post or Instagram picture. Especially this is the case of young people, who are the most active users of new media.
Young people have a need to be guided in the aspect of new media and their use for responsible news consumption and sharing, and active participation in the life of a society. We have observed an extreme relevance of this in these times of war in Europe, when propaganda and disinformation create a distorted reality. We also observed a necessity for critical thinking in times of the pandemic, when it was easy to speculate on people’s panic and conditions of chaos, and people were ready to believe every post they saw.
Young people are not taught critical thinking at school, although it is an extremely necessary skill. Critical thinking is an essential skill for youth even independently of the news consumption. To avoid getting fooled by anyone we have to be able to work out what statements are true and what people’s motives might be for telling you something.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN TOPICS ADDRESSED WITHIN THE SLML PROJECT?
Democracy
Media Literacy
COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES
We extend an open invitation to all facilitators who share our vision: educate the youngsters to be active participants in the society, to understand how media function, what the peculiarities of the new media are, and how to make a better use of them.
Would you like to be part of our stakeholder database? Please contact the representative organisation for each partner country.
THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSNATIONAL COLLABORATION
The issue of media literacy is not a problem of a specific region, on the contrary, similar tendencies are being observed in different countries. However, the situations are totally different in countries, media culture varies a lot from one region to another, and it will not be representative if we carry out the project only on the national scale. It is crucial to research the media statistics in different countries (including, usage of media by youngsters, social networks statistics, how critical thinking is touched upon in the school curricula, etc.).
The project is dedicated to see how service-learning methodology is being developed, because until very recent, this practice was not very popular in Europe. However, in 2019, there was created a special organization, European Observatory of Service-Learning in Higher Education, with the aim to enhance and disseminate knowledge of service-learning in higher education in Europe, as an educational approach that enhances students’ civic engagement, brings them closer to different social realities while allowing them to work in a real environment. Service-learning methodology is being further developed in Europe, and we want our project to be part of this development.