Commitment to more media literacy in the German-Czech border region
As part of an ERDF-funded workshop, German and Czech students developed materials for teaching media literacy for use in schools close to the border
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Students of Chemnitz University of Technology and the University of Ústí nad Labem (CZ) dealt intensively with different media and their effects as part of an ERDF-funded workshop. Photo: Professorship for Central and Eastern European Studies
The Professorship for Central and Eastern European Studies at Chemnitz University of Technology would like to make a contribution to strengthening democracy in the border region. One contribution to this is the project Demokratie am Abgrund? Desinformation kontra Medienkompetenz (Democracy on the Brink? Disinformation versus Media Literacy). Within the framework of this project, a total of 50 students from Chemnitz University of Technology and University of Ústí nad Labem (CZ) met in mid-April 2022 for an initial workshop.
The Democracy Project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Development Bank of Saxony (Sächsische Aufbaubank) until December 31, 2022. The project is led by Prof. Dr. Stefan Garsztecki, head of the Professorship for Central and Eastern European Studies at Chemnitz University of Technology.
Promoting media literacy across borders
The educational project is about promoting media literacy of and by students. To this end, the project team created, among other things, school materials to provide information about the diverse digital media landscape in Germany and the Czech Republic. The students also developed concepts for interventions in the field of educational work to counter negative effects of uncritical media use. The materials are intended to benefit schoolchildren in the Czech and German border regions in particular.
Sonia Kampel and Julian Bornemeier from the Institute for Media Research at Chemnitz University of Technology also participated in the kick-off workshop at Chemnitz University of Technology as experts. They showed the psychological basics of (dis)information. They also presented current research findings on online platforms. In addition, they discussed phenomena such as echo chambers, conspiracy myths and credibility in social media with the participants.
Just as the topic itself has not been completed, this workshop format will also be continued. The second workshop of this project will take place at the beginning of May 2022 at the University of Ústí nad Labem.
For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Stefan Garsztecki, e-mail stefan.garsztecki@phil.tu-chemnitz.de.
(Article: Matthias Fejes / Translation: Brent Benofsky)
Matthias Fejes
03.05.2022
