Media Literacy for Active Citizens

Sanem, 4th to 11th April 2015

Media Literacy for Active Citizens, Sanem 4th to 11th April 2015 1

2

MEDIA LITERACY FOR ACTIVE CITIZENS

Media Literacy Seminar in Luxembourg

by Simona ROUDI

T

he group of adult people from different countries around Europe gathered in Sanem in Luxembourg with the purpose to learn about media, communication and active citizenship.

The project which was placed in Sanem, gathered 18 participants from the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Turkey, France and Luxembourg. Through different ways of informal education participants learned the basic concepts about media, communication, identity, and created different media content.

During the project the participants with different background made several presentation, played simulation games, theatre, discussion and other workshops related to the media, they learned how to create videos, make photos, web contents and how to create a newspaper. Final output was the web site where they presented their work during the project.

As there was people from different countries, they spend evenings by learning about other cultures and their habits, tasted their food, listened their music, danced their dances, played their games and learned basics of several foreign languages.

Seminar as a part of Grundtvig partnership The project in Luxembourg is part of the Grundtvig partnership which lasts from August 2013 until July 2015. It is a base to create a long-­‐‑term partnership between NGOs experienced in non-­‐‑formal education between partner organization from the Czechs Republic (Humanitas), France (Together), Luxembourg (Inter-­‐‑Actions), Slovenia (Connect), Poland (EFM) and Turkey (Hep Birlikte).

Partner organizations are aware of the crucial role of the media in today'ʹs democratic societies. As they wrote in the presentation of the project, a part of being a well-­‐‑informed, responsible and active citizens means also to possess media literacy – to be able to search and process information, critically analyse information in media and shape one'ʹs opinion.

Because organizations believe, that non-­‐‑formal education can be a very efficient for this purpose, they prepare a project which consists of a Kick-­‐‑Off Seminar, four Media Laboratories and a Final Seminar. After the Seminar in Sanem, representatives from partner organizations will meet in a Final Seminar in Turkey to discuss the outcome of the project and to discuss the further options for implementation of the outcomes and other options for the cooperation among organizations.

Media Literacy for Active Citizens, Sanem 4th to 11th April 2015 3

4

MEDIA LITERACY FOR ACTIVE CITIZENS

UNITED IN DIVERSITY

by Monika PIETRASIK

“All your strength is in your union, All your danger is in discord. Therefore be at

peace henceforth, And as brothers and sisters live together”

E

(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) veryone of us is human who has social role in their own family, job and country. We still create something and take care of this. In 1th 1993 we found a political-­‐‑economic union. How is our awareness of being European like? How are we improving

relations between the members? Do we feel responsible for Europen Union ? What are we doing to be active ctizens ? Everybody should give answers to themelves for these questions.

First of all every country is different, has another tradition and country, but despite all of these variances we are humans who have common goals.We want to live in a country of peace. Every country is responsible for creating area of freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers. Europen Union is focused on sustainable development based on balanced economic growth and social justice. Our goals are to build a social market economy -­‐‑ highly competitive and aiming at full employment and social progress also.

So we know now our aims but just in theory. How can we increase the number of active citizens and use our knowledge? Europen Union gives citizens a lot of opportunities for young people and adults. Firstly they organise many projects, events, conferences and trainings for us. They are available for every member of Europe. Despite of the fact that it is quite a young institution and is still growing we can involve and try to find solutions and propects for better life.

Media Literacy for Active Citizens, Sanem 4th to 11th April 2015 5

6

MEDIA LITERACY FOR ACTIVE CITIZENS

Being participants of projects is such a great experience. We can obtain a huge knowledge and share it with other people from your country. International projects help to broaden our mind, build union and break many borders. Trainings have influence on your skills. You learn how to be comunicative, open-­‐‑ minded and self-­‐‑confident.You reach knowledge which is not just useful for activity in Europe Union but also for your academic life or work.

Your skills are much better and wider.

Being involved in politics of Europen Union, for example in Europen Comisson or European organisations, has influence on your country. If we want to live in a happy country we should take care of the whole Europen Union.

Despite of many problems in Europe every citizen has a duty to be an active member, to find new possibilites and „open new door”.

We should not lose our chances for being valuable people. Involving in issues related with Europen Union makes us responsible for our happiness and creating common union which helps each other and makes us better citizens.

Europen Union is a garden of 28 flowers. We are seeds inside and a future of our garden. Are you aware of this ...?

DO WE KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE?

by Roman SCHMIDT

“Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place to another”

O

ne of the basic rules of communication says, that we never communicate so effective as we think. The purpose of the communication is to provide information, to gain information, to get together knowledge and experience, to create/prepare conditions for cooperation, to influence attitudes, etc.

How shoud İ provide information with audience?

When talking in front of an audience, it is important to bear in mind: •

Why İ want to communicate

•

Who is recipient of information

•

Who delivers the information

•

How many information İ will provide

•

How accurate is the information

•

Which medium İ am going to use.

All of these elements are necessary to make the communication flow works.

The most used communication channel are surely medias. Do we need them?

Television It is source of information and entertaitment. The first TV set was made in 1929 but the remout control was made 27 years later in 1956. TV became a drug for the young generation which devotes almost all free time to watching TV. Radio It is very important invention. From the beginning radio was used for better communicatio among people. Has given important news end directions which has helped many people in wars. Helps to develop our imagination. Help can do all things while listening to the radio.

Media Literacy for Active Citizens, Sanem 4th to 11th April 2015 7

8

MEDIA LITERACY FOR ACTIVE CITIZENS

Mobile phones Our grandparents would not have been able to imagine what it is but nowadays almost all people know what a mobile is. We can keep in touch with the others wherever we are. Quality of mobile phones is going up and process are coming down.

Internet It is vast global network connecting computers across the world. The idea of electronic mailbox was born in 1970s.

The www is vast network of information databases.

E-­‐‑mails It is much faster than traditional mail or snail. It arrives in electronic mailbox of the recipients within minutes or seconds.

Media Literacy for Active Citizens, Sanem 4th to 11th April 2015 9

10

MEDIA LITERACY FOR ACTIVE CITIZENS

DO WE NEED MEDIA LITERACY?

by Funda & Mukaddes “Media Literacy is a basic tool for citizenship in an Information Society”

W

Pat Aufderheide hat mass media is: all visual and auditory tools having responsibility on entertainment, information and education. The development of technology and the usage of social media by everyone have grown exponentially. We cannot live

without looking at TV, reading newspaper, making decisions and phone calls, checking our cellphones or social networks for notifications and messages and so on… We believe that has a powerful influence on us. How? First of all we keep informed about everything around the world via mass media. We can also find all information we’d like to learn in a short time. We go to places we will never visit or reach activities we cannot do. Moreover,it is the easiest way to get to know cultures, diversities and similarities of other countries better. We have changes to get socialized. However they help us develop ourselves in the area of education.

On the other hand the media companies want to earn much more money every day. For that reason they exploit our feelings and opinions and shape our beliefs. The politicians often use mass media to create false agenda and shape to propagate their ideas.

Ads have a significant influence on us and make us consume everything even though we don’t need. So obesity and anorexia have been one of the most important problems of nations.

From this point of view, media literacy is an indispensable subject so that we can properly understand and use tools that come into our lives so much. All parents being in the first place with whole members of societies should do their parts and European Union must support training programmes concerning with media literacy increasingly.

Media Literacy for Active Citizens, Sanem 4th to 11th April 2015 11

12

MEDIA LITERACY FOR ACTIVE CITIZENS

Relıgıon – only anachronısm of past ages?

by Roman SCHMIDT

A

long tıme ago a man has started to realıze, that ‘somethıng’ was above hım, that human beıng needs communıty of the others, that he needs to fulfıl not only hıs basıc human needs as the meal, drınkıng or sleepıng, but he also desıres other human beıngs

around hım, theırs presence, mutual ınteractıons, belongıngs, nearness and the love.

Unfortunatelly durıng ages happened countless sıtuatıons when one human beıng mısunderstood to the other and the unhappıness or fatalıty was ın the world.

For long ages were relıgıons/faıths/belıef as communıty or confessıon of belıef when people confess theır personal belıef ın Somebody or Somethıng. Mostly lıke revelatıon of God’s Word and for ımportant and only one scale of theır lıfe and belıef.

Many world relıgıons are sımılar, but only several of them are untypıccal compared to the others.

They are: Chrıstıanıty, Islam and Judaısm. All of them are about personal belıef, whıch ıs peofessıng basıc and everlastıng confessıon of belıef, word herıtage, wısdom and knowledge.

The purpose of thıs artıcle ıs not to provoke emotıons and to appraıse any sıngle epızode, ages or thoughts of relıgıons ın sıngles. All these relıgıons gave and stıll are gıvıng to whole the world constant values accross ages/centurıes, ın spıte of growıng relatıvısm of all an almost ın all thıng among us.

One can only agree, ıf we want to be true to ourselves and wıth respect to the others, that our roots all of us are ın the wısdom towards to God. And God, ıt seems, dıd great thıngs. But how that ıs ın harsh contrast to our actıng, whıch ıs mostly totally dıfferent from our basıc desıre – love.

And ın spıte of thıs, eventhough we feel hıgher prıncıples of lıfe around us , tooth and naıl we often defense to keep ınsıde us moral prıncıples and by our actıng we often dısclaım human beıng ın us and thınk that we can to do everythıng usıng all possıble meanıngs. And as we want more and more, we are more poor and lost as babe ın the woods.

So, belongs the relıgıons ınto our century or ıs ıs anachronısm?

Technologıes or researches of all possıble matters are more and more perect and people ın good trust thınk that ıt ıs the rıght way leadıng to the prosperıty, brıght tomorrows, however ın the frame of specıous approach one to another person we do reverse thıng, we have started process of alıenatıon ıncludıng relatıvısm of key human values, whıch we can draw on relıgıons. But ıf we would be conducted by these values ano not by relavıtısatıng them, ıt could be probably one of ways, how to achıeve the quıte ın our souls not only as one only sıngle man but also as natıons. Once we lose the respect to the others, we are gettıng start to fall down the chasm and often turn down the others, mostly sımply ınfluencıng people.

If all above stated ıs true and ıf we are wıllıng to admıt, that probably there ıs Somethıng above us, and wıll be wıllıng to be ınspıred by belıef, be sıncere each other, respect each other and please thınk that God’s message ıs probably for everybody of us. Includıng me and you.

Media Literacy for Active Citizens, Sanem 4th to 11th April 2015 13