The program aims to contribute to improving media literacy of high-school students, both as media consumers and generators of content. The abundance of information and social media changed the media consumption and content creation. Skills, such as critical understanding and usage of information, become more and more important. The project aims to respond to this trend by contributing to building media literacy as a new set of civic skills.
CONTEXT
Young people in Romania use the online environment intensively, yet their level of information verification remains low: only 15% of those aged 16 to 29 verify the accuracy of the content they encounter, according to Eurostat (2023). This indicates a clear need for media literacy competencies in schools.
The Center for Independent Journalism (CJI) runs the largest media education program in Romania, having trained over 1,500 teachers and engaged approximately 300,000 students in dedicated activities. This infrastructure enables the expansion of the program toward a systemic approach rooted in teacher training and ongoing support.
STRATEGY
The program has two main directions:
-
New Media Literacy courses and strengthening classroom application for Romanian language teachers who have participated in media literacy training over the years. CJI will provide continuous support so that Romanian language teachers can regularly update their knowledge and continue teaching media literacy in their classrooms (through new resources and an active professional community).
-
Transfer of expertise to public continuous professional development providers. CJI will collaborate with public education institutions that offer continuing training to strengthen their capacity to deliver media literacy programs for Romanian language teachers, and will continue working with universities to integrate media literacy into initial teacher training programs.
EXPECTED RESULTS
- 125,000 high school students acquire media literacy competencies
- 1,250 Romanian language teachers consistently integrate media literacy elements into their classes