Voices Festival: EFJ, EBU and Lie Detectors to train local journalists for back-to-school initiative
In a one-day workshop organised by the VOICES partners, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), and delivered by the award-winning media literacy organisation Lie Detectors on 27 February, Croatian journalists working with public and commercial media will learn how to teach children aged 10-15 basic fact-checking methods in an interactive format. The journalists will then be ready to deliver free 90-minute training sessions in local schools.
“In times of unprecedented disinformation campaigns in particular via social networks, it is crucial to explain the complex and hard work of journalists and their public interest role to school kids. In order to trust journalists, to avoid news avoidance, we need to be transparent and reach out to young people. There are great new formats geared at journalistic fact checking, with some best practice from public service media,” said EFJ Director Renate Schroeder. “At this year’s Voices Festival in Zagreb, it is essential to turn more media professionals into media literacy professionals. We welcome the great cooperation with Lie Detectors in bringing the journalists’ role and work closer to the young generation in Croatia.”
The EBU, as the world’s leading alliance of public service media has also long been a strong advocate for more media literacy among broad sections of the population: “Public service media in particular are committed to the common good and contribute to initiatives for a responsible approach to news and media,” says Wouter Gekiere, Head of the EBU’s Brussels office and Managing Director. “Our Croatian member HRT plays an active role in support of new media literacy programmes, and we are proud of our joint cooperation with Lie Detectors.”
The event takes place just before the launch of the three-day VOICES Festival, held in Zagreb from 27 February to 1 March by an international consortium of media and nonprofit organisations. The workshop is hosted by Croatian public broadcaster Hrvatska Radiotelevizija (HRT).
Lie Detectors’ award-winning methodology will enable the newly trained journalists to teach 10 to 15-year-olds to recognise disinformation on the internet and question their information habits. The organisation has already trained more than 100,000 children and young people in Europe on this issue to counter the corrosive effect of disinformation on our societies. On the occasion of the VOICES festival, Lie Detectors is extending its commitment to train journalists in Croatia.
“Across Europe, we are witnessing the divisive effect of deliberate disinformation and polarisation in public discourse,” says Lie Detectors Executive Director Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck. “Journalists are ideal ambassadors for quality news standards and help to develop critical thinking.”
After the short training programme as media literacy trainers, the participating journalists will be able to train 10 to 15-year-olds in the critical handling of possible fake news at the invitation of their schools. Lie Detectors will provide the relevant training materials. Already shortly after its start in 2017, the organisation has won the European Commission’s EU Digital skills award for its work in education (in 2018). The EBU-UER, EFJ, and Lie Detectors are working together in the VOICES project consortium, which is co-funded by the European Union.
If you are interested in a school visit or teacher training by Lie Detectors:
Teachers are welcome to contact Lie Detectors about classroom visits or teacher training. Write to: info@lie-detectors.org
