OSCE concludes series of media literacy workshops for university students in Bosnia and Herzegovina

MOSTAR, April 15 2018 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) concluded today in Mostar a series of student workshops on media literacy. The workshops were held in Sarajevo, East Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Tuzla, concluding today in Mostar. The workshops focused on enhancing the level of the participating students’ understanding of the media in the digital age and their influence on society in the context of BiH.

“The workshops provided students with an opportunity to become better acquainted with the role of media and its effects on us as individuals. The aim was to introduce them to an array of skills and technical knowledge that will enable them to think critically about media content and fight off potential propaganda, fake news, and other manipulations more effectively,” said Vanja Ibrahimbegovic Tihak, media and digital literacy educator.  

Zlatan Music, OSCE Mission to BiH Press Officer, said that sometimes media activities steer our actions, whereas it should be the other way around. “It has become increasingly important for all citizens not only to know and insist on the professional standards journalists and media workers must adhere to, but also to be aware of the complaint mechanisms they have at their disposal in instances when these standards are not applied, either through the Press Council or the Communications Regulatory Agency of BiH.”

The essence of knowledge in democratic countries is that citizens are literate and critically minded about the media, highlighted Asja Boric, one of the participants. “The media literacy workshop helped us to understand the digital world we live in and how the media shape what we know. It provided us with very important guidance on how to navigate our lives reasonably in a global and technological society.”  

The media literacy workshops have been organized in co-operation with the universities in Sarajevo, East Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Tuzla and Mostar. They are part of a broader project that is implemented by the OSCE Mission to BiH and aims to promote freedom of the media in BiH.