OSCE Mission in Kosovo promotes media and information literacy to youth
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo concluded its tenth and final online lecture on media and information literacy in a digital age for students of Serbian-language elementary and secondary schools in Kosovo on 30 October 2020. The lectures covered ten schools in the Pejë/Peć, Gjilan/Gnjilane, Prizren and Prishtinë/Priština regions and included 155 participants.
Conducted by experienced Kosovo journalist Anamari Repić, the lectures focused on teaching the students how to engage with media critically and analyse and assess media content. They discussed ways to understand and deconstruct media messages, stereotyping, media spinning, fake news, and the risks of the new phenomenon of “deep fakes”.
“The rise in online media portals over the years has been a well-received development in Kosovo, one that contributes to media pluralism, further strengthening media as the fourth pillar of democracy. However, there are also downsides, as fake news, disinformation and unverified information have become commonplace on the Internet,” said Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Jan Braathu. “Young people struggle with evaluating what is true and recognizing misleading information online. This is particularly important given that 93% of people in Kosovo use the Internet, 50% of whom are youth.”
Dane Koruga, Chief of the Media Section at the OSCE Mission, said that the lectures help students critically assess and engage with the information they encounter daily. “We strive to engage media professionals, scholars, educators and activists to pool resources, develop innovative tools and build initiatives to help combat disinformation and encourage a critical approach when interacting with media. In our lectures, we push students to be mindful of the obstacles and challenges that come with diverse forms of media, providing them with the tools to understand the end-points and influence of media content,” Koruga said.
The Mission continues to raise awareness among the general public through televised programmes on media and information literacy. In 2020 alone, the Mission produced and aired ten shows in co-operation with Radio Gorazdevac. On 9 October, it launched a series of six educational television programmes produced with Klan Kosova titled “Edumedia”. In the coming months, six informational videos on digital literacy will air.
The Mission has also been engaged in including media and information literacy in the formal education system in Kosovo, by facilitating lectures at the Department of Journalism of the University of Pristina and seminars at the University of Prizren. It also collaborated with the DokuFest film festival in organizing training courses that equip high school teachers with media literacy tools for classrooms to promote critical and analytical thinking among students.
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo is mandated with human rights protection and promotion, democratization and public safety sector development. It helps safeguard freedom of media and freedom of expression and supports media development.