FIGHTING AGAINST THE VIRUS - '' INFODEMIC ''

Background As organisations working with youths we have witnessed the surge in the use of social media by our young people being bombarded with a big wave of data and information; however, this data can be based on deception, gossipy tidbits, rumours, and so on. Misinformation not only impacts negatively on the human body but also the mental health of people, especially young people. Having identified this problem, the partners identified the needs youth workers and youths need to be better informed and knowledgeable on understanding this new challenge, and the challenge of the infodemic which has also set off an alarming wave of discrimination against people of some ethnicities. This discrimination ranges from direct attacks to (unconscious) fear and avoidance. Understanding that young people are the generators of change in every community. Misinformation is false or inaccurate information deliberately intended to deceive. In the context of the pandemic, it greatly affected all aspects of life, specifically people’s mental health, since searching for COVID-19 updates on the Internet has jumped 50%–70% across all generations. Misinformation can circulate and be absorbed very quickly, changing people’s behaviour, and potentially leading them to take greater risks. This infodemic highlights the essential needs which through the project we addressed where we better understood the role media literacy plays in all aspects of life, including during moments of crisis. Focusing on media literacy education is a key to ensuring that individuals can find the real facts among all of the half-truths being shared online and beyond. The project ''INFODEMIC '' was focused on developing critical thinking skills, and a better understanding of the media and the messages it promotes -not only in relation to COVID19 - but all content and sources we engage with on a regular basis in order to judge the reliability and credibility of information youth encounter through print, television & internet and create a media literate citizenry. Through the project, we developed critical thinking skills for youth workers and raised the organisations’ capacity in the field of new media literacy in the 5 EU partner countries to contribute to the quality of life of young people, the emergence of new approaches and development of a more inclusive, tolerant, peaceful society and develop the quality and potential of digital youth work. The project was built on the rationale that by addressing the need of becoming media literate, youth are able to critically and sceptically analyze media messages they encounter every day, become wiser consumers of media who are capable of evaluating online information and are able to protect themselves from deceptive media messages. Objectives The project was based on the idea that through the project the partners and participants would be able to find the real facts among all of the half-truths being shared online and beyond, especially when it can literally be a matter of life or death. From desk research and through the project activities we identified that media literacy is not only a matter of education but also a matter of public safety concern. Through the project activities, we focused on developing critical thinking skills, and a better understanding of the media and the messages it promotes not only in relation to COVID-19 but all content and sources that we engage with on a regular basis in order to be better equipped to judge the reliability and credibility of information that youths encounter through print, television & internet and as an end result create a more media literate citizenry. As part of our project objectives, we developed the critical thinking skills of the youth workers participants. We assisted in raising the organisations’ capacity in the field of new media literacy in the 5 EU partner countries in order to further contribute to the quality of life of young people, addressing the emergence of new approaches and the development of a more inclusive, tolerant, peaceful society and develop the quality and potential of digital youth work. Through the project, we managed to build on the rationale that by becoming media literate, youth would be able to critically and sceptically analyse media messages that they encounter every day, become wiser consumers of media who are capable of evaluating online information and are able to protect themselves from deceptive media messages. The project achievements can be listed as follows: 1. Enhanced youth workers' capacity to discern the reliability of news sources and their content (in other words, media literacy) 2. The development of a project WEBSITE with all the info about the project, objectives, activities, downloadable outputs, training programmes, short films created during the project life cycle about media literacy education ...etc 3. A Booklet of Exchange Of Best Practices '': In this guide book we shared the methodologies being already used in partner organizations or developed altogether with the experiences gained during the project implementation to non-formally educate youngsters in topics on media literacy, checking the facts, hoaxes and media propaganda. The Booklet consists of the following: a - Presentation of the Project, logo, presentation of partners' standard definition of '' BEST PRACTICES '' b - Description of best practices collected c - Testing results with feedback from participants d- Conclusion Implementation The project activities were split into the following activities: 1. Management- throughout the project duration, we held 9 online partner meetings to discuss, and agree on management issues, financials, activities, evaluation and monitoring. In addition, we organised 4 TPMs. 2. TPM 1 was held between 13/03/2022 and 13/03/2022 in Turkey and was dedicated to project management. 3. TPM2 was held in Estonia between 02/05/2022 and 03/05/2022 which focused on reports from all partners about local activities and future plans. Planning and organisation of local activities using best practices from the project partners and sharing of the results. The effective effectiveness of the best practices was evaluated and the potential for replicability in the individual reference contexts was analysed. A meeting with local youth and community youth workers was organised to discuss an event organization. Sharing of best practices session: exercises about media-biased texts and fallacies. Discussion about dissemination activities and sharing good samples of photos and videos from the project partners. Administrative and financial issues were discussed and agreed to. 4. TPM3 was held in Bulgaria between 30/06/2022 and 02/07/2022. During this TPM the activities organised were based on the following: Discussing the Booklet: Exchange of Best Practices. In this guide book we will share the methodologies being already used in partner organizations or developed altogether with the experiences gained during the project implementation to non-formal education of youngsters on the topics of media literacy, checking the facts, hoaxes and media propaganda. Creation of best practices with the following indicators: title - author - objectives - target - description -innovative elements - impact -conclusion. (The methodologies being already used in partner organizations or developed altogether with the experiences gained during the project implementation to not formally educate youngsters in topics of media literacy, checking the facts, hoaxes and media propaganda) Video creation session – 5 videos and 5 sound bites were created. The video reflected and was based on the development of critical thinking skills of youth workers and raise the organizations’ capacity in the field of new media literacy in order to contribute to the quality of life of young people, the emergence of new approaches and development of a more inclusive, tolerant, peaceful society and develop the quality and potential of digital youth work. 5. TPM4 was held in Poland between 12/08/2022 and 13/08/2022 - Introduction of the participants. Partners’ information about the implementation of the local activities - Discussion about the dissemination activities - Creating Infographics and Storyboards related to the topic INFODEMIC - Visiting cultural places - Creation of 5 new best practices - Online games created for students from 6 to 17 years old. The participants made their own characters and then played the completed game with different scenarios that fit their age group. The game had different challenges with 2 options on how to solve them. The aim of the game was to raise awareness for certain situations that can happen in the field of the internet. - Organisation of a song contest for youngsters around 14-16. First, they had to do their own research on the topic of the “Safe internet” and while they were doing this they will learn more about it. After that, they proceeded with writing the lyrics in their native language (optional- with English translation). - Mascots For 3-4 to 10 years old children and their parents. There were two characters (good and bad, for example, the good one was “The Guardian of the Internet”) taking part in different types of events that are already made for kids. Their main role was to attract attention to the topic of safety in the online space and educate through that. - Game with quizzes for students around 6/7 to 12 years old. This game was practised in schools. Through that game, they learnt how to make a difference between real and fake news. For example- one part of the quiz was- they see 2 different articles- one fake and one real, the other was with questions/ true-false answers/ about basic information and after they answered, their teacher/or guest expert provided them more information about that specific topic. - Forum in the field of media literacy. Their youngsters were able to find some already written articles, but at the same time they could share their own stories or ask for help in certain situations Participation in the Citizens’ Activity in Nawodna with local residents to test best practices - Lunch will be served during the activity - sampling Polish Cuisine - Meetings with the mayors of Nawodna and Garnowo - CERTİFİCATE CEREMONY - BBQ Dinner 6. LTT in MALTA held between 02/04/2022 and 07/04/2022 focused on - To exchange experience, tools and best practices concerning media literacy education, especially for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds at the local/National level; - How to Adapt and transfer the best practices identified in the 5 partner countries' methodologies based on formal/non-formal education; - How to organize testing activities in each project partner’s country in order to share, analyse, evaluate and adapt best Practices selected during the Training; Through this LTT, Youth workers enlarged their knowledge and improved skills in the education of media literacy by sharing and exchanging experiences and best practices with other youth workers providing a better understanding of the project topics – disinformation, media literacy, critical thinking, developing critical thinking and media literacy skills to transmit to young people their work with in order to foster their ability to recognise disinformation and counteract on its side, the effects by changing narratives Increased knowledge, skills to put into practice knowledge and new skills acquired in their daily work, thus developing youth critical thinking and promoting their participation in their society and countries fighting against disinformation and its side effects. Achievements All components were achieved and no changes to the project objectives were made. Hence the concrete outputs that were achieved were: The youth workers - trainers & young learners as the end users received the media literacy training which improved /developed the following: 1. Components of Media Literacy Skill. Ability to recognize and describe how media messages are constructed (Construction techniques). Ability to identify the point of view in a media message. Ability to recognize information omitted in an informational message (Omissions Ability). Ability to compare and contrast messages from different types of news programs, e.g., local and national news. Ability to identify the purpose of a media message. Ability to identify the intended audience of a media message. 2. Media Knowledge Structures: Understanding of Knowledge structures related to the news media industry. 3. Need for Cognition: Understanding preference for mindful versus automatic thought-processing of news (e.g., prefer complex to simple problems, thinking in depth about something). 4. Media focus of Control: Understanding the degree of perceived control of whether and how media influence one (e.g., can avoid being misinformed by paying attention to different sources of news) 5. During the project life-cycle, the partners developed a guide of best practices for teachers/youth workers in the field of Media Literacy Education. 6. A WEBSITE with all the info about the project, objectives, activities, and downloadable outputs on ''Media Literacy for Inclusion ”: with a collection of demand-oriented tools & methods, training programmes, formats for awareness-raising activities, short films created during the Project life cycle about media literacy education ...etc 7. A Booklet of Exchange Of Best Practices '': In this guide book we shared the methodologies used in partner organizations or developed altogether with the experiences gained during the project implementation to non-formally educate youngsters about media literacy, checking the facts, hoaxes and media propaganda. Booklet consists of the following: a - Presentation of the Project, presentation logo, presentation of partners' common definition of '' BEST PRACTICES '' b - Description of best practices collected (title - author - objectives - target - description -innovative elements - impact -conclusion) c - Testing results with feedback from participants d-Conclusion