Spreading Critical Media Literacy among Kosovo youth
Around 40 teenagers gather around in a circle and, together with representatives of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and UNICEF Innovations Lab, they officially launch the eighth edition of the media literacy programme PONDER.
An informal educational programme targeting youth aged 16 to 21, PONDER was developed to improve critical thinking with regard to information and messages received from online media and the Internet. Through interactive lectures, games and exercises in three-day workshops, the young people learn about diversity, plagiarism, data presentation and interpreting images.
“Young people can be especially vulnerable to being misled by online content,” says Edona Bajrami-Shala of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. “Instilling a critical approach to information imparts tolerance and a sense of community.”
According to Internet World Stats, Kosovo had over a million and a half Internet users and 80.4 per cent penetration in 2017.
“While these are impressive figures, they can also mean a great exposure to the dangerous messages of radicalization and violent extremism. By strengthening media literacy, PONDER also plays an important role in countering potential terrorism, as it helps young people approach radical messages critically,” Bajrami-Shala adds.
Filtering information
PONDER was first started in September 2016. “The idea was to teach youth how to filter the information they receive,” says Valon Nushi of UNICEF Innovations Lab. Eight workshops have been held so far.
“Young people receive a huge amount of information on a daily basis, are very active on social media and receive news from a large number of portals. So it’s really important that they understand that not all information is true, that things are not always as they appear. They need to be able to tell which are credible sources. This is what makes PONDER truly valuable,” says Nushi.
Young people receive a huge amount of information on a daily basis, are very active on social media and receive news from a large number of portals. So it’s really important that they understand that not all information is true, that things are not always as they appear. They need to be able to tell which are credible sources. This is what makes PONDER truly valuable.
The partnership between the OSCE Mission and UNICEF has resulted in 200 young people trained and more than 2,000 reached and informed about what PONDER is about, through visits to high schools, youth centres and different communities in Kosovo.
Going beyond training
Besides providing training, PONDER also acts as a bridge between young people and potential employers. As a final assignment, after having learned how to research, conduct interviews, write and read graphs, workshop participants write an article on a topic of their choice. On the basis of this they apply for a one-month traineeship programme in media institutions in Kosovo, supported by the OSCE Mission. So far, 46 PONDER participants were taken on by such media institutions, 15 for full-time employment.
Tringa Dreshaj, a 21 year old from Pejë/Peć is one of them. A participant in the first workshop in 2016, Dreshaj was accepted for a traineeship with the online portal of a leading newspaper. She was subsequently employed with a different portal full time.
“I’ve participated in all kinds of volunteer activities and different projects, but I always say PONDER is the best,” Dreshaj says. “Before participating in the workshop, I had no idea how news is produced, and I think the others have the same problem, because we may be exposed to fake news and we don’t know how to approach it. With PONDER, I learned so many new things, things I didn’t know existed. It made me curious to read more about events that are reported, how the whole story develops.”
Reaching out to more
Bajrami-Shala of the OSCE says that she is happy to be part of a project that makes a lasting impression on young people by teaching them to think and analyse information before taking it for a fact. “PONDER has produced some remarkable results, both in terms of training youth and helping them with job opportunities, and we expect to build on them further,” she says.
Nushi agrees: “We look forward to spreading critical thinking skills among as many young people as possible. Once we complete the first round of workshops, we hope to return to regions we’ve already covered, where there are new groups of young people eager to participate in another round of PONDER workshops.”