Structured Dialogue Held with Decision-Makers on Key Project Results

On Tuesday, April 4, 2023, from 12:30 to 14:30 on the Zoom platform, the sixth consultations within the structured dialogue of the project “Media Education Matters.MOV” were held. The moderators of the consultations were Darija Jeger and Branimira Penić from the Croatian Debate Society, and the aim of the consultation meeting was to introduce participants to the guidelines for media and educational policies in the field of media education, developed within the project “Media Education Matters.MOV” and the results of previously held consultations.

In the initial part of the dialogue, Darija Jeger briefly presented the course and the most important conclusions of the first consultation meeting, where media education within primary education was discussed. The conclusions of the first consultation meeting were as follows: most participants agreed that media education should be the responsibility of all teachers, not just classroom teachers and teachers of the Croatian language and IT, as well as library specialists. However, there are problems due to the lack of training that addresses how to implement media education with students in schools, and the inconsistency of media education implementation in existing curricula. Continuing the dialogue on these conclusions, the author of the guidelines on media education in primary education, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lana Ciboci Perša from the Society for Communication and Media Culture, emphasized that knowledge about media in the modern world quickly becomes outdated. Therefore, the Agency for Electronic Media, due to its work on media literacy projects and the portal medijskapismenost.hr, could play a significant role in the education process of educational workers. To the question of how to improve the implementation of training and ensure a greater offer of training for teachers in the field of media literacy, the Deputy Director of the Agency for Electronic Media, Robert Tomljenović, responded by stating that the Agency will continue working on projects in the field of media education. Projects such as Media Literacy Days support the creation of conditions for launching projects and provide help and support to those who educate young people on media literacy topics, with significant efforts being made to create educational materials. Training is most often linked to Media Literacy Days and not systematic, but there is great interest in them, as well as in the public call that annually funds media literacy projects.

The discussion also covered what types of training would be useful for educational workers to develop knowledge for the cross-curricular implementation of media education and how willing educational institutions are to collaborate with associations on media literacy projects. It was mentioned that it would be beneficial to improve the collaboration between schools and associations with the Education and Teacher Training Agency (AZOO) and to verify educational materials, as there are very few evaluated preventive school programs. It would also be beneficial to create an e-course with different levels of difficulty, allowing interested educational workers to improve their skills and knowledge in media education at any time.

The dialogue continued with the goals and conclusions from the second consultations on media education within the secondary education system. The participants highlighted the recommendation emphasizing the need to create educational content for multimedia project-based learning as the most important. To the question of what form of support from decision-makers is most needed for the successful implementation of multimedia project-based learning, Žarko Čižmar from the Telecenter association, author of the guidelines on media education in the secondary education system, responded that there is a strategic framework for educator training, and large productions of educational digital content are underway, with CARNET playing a crucial role in their coordination and contracting. Discussions also covered the possibilities of empowering teachers to work in modern digital conditions and how to motivate them to use digital tools in teaching. It was emphasized that during new curriculum changes, a greater focus should be placed on project-based learning and organizing workshops to reduce the fears of teachers with less experience with technology. It is also essential to introduce courses dealing with media education in faculties that train future teachers.

In the second part of the consultations, Branimira Penić presented the main goals and conclusions of the consultations on the importance of non-formal education programs in media education. She emphasized that most such programs are conducted by civil society organizations, which often lack the necessary infrastructure and continuity in funding.

The primary goal was determined to be ensuring continuity of support for programs. Matija Mrakovčić from Kurziv, the author of the guidelines on the role of non-formal programs in media education, stated that the possibility of certifying programs of civil society organizations dealing with media education is a crucial form of support. Implementing multi-year support and the possibility of long-term cooperation between schools and associations depends on establishing certification standards for NGO projects and defining clear criteria for cooperation between educational institutions and NGOs. The Ministry of Culture and Media and the Agency for Electronic Media are recognized as key actors in ensuring the continuity of media literacy programs, while local governments recognize their insufficient work in this area.

Considering the importance of developing socio-emotional skills in young people for media literacy development, in the following consultations, Jelena Adamlje from the Pragma association, author of the guidelines on socio-emotional skills and media literacy for children and youth, responded to the question of how media literacy can stimulate the development of socio-emotional skills in children and youth and how these skills can impact the development of media literacy. She stated that it is necessary to create a base of content and programs that can be linked to socio-emotional skills and media literacy, through which children can be simultaneously educated on these two areas. Such programs should be evaluated and verified but also based on existing social needs.

In the final part of the dialogue, Darija Jeger presented the goals and conclusions of the consultations on media education in the context of media policy. The most important goal identified was the sustainable funding of projects in the field of media literacy. Ivana Pejić, author of the guidelines on media education in the context of media policy from Kurziv, stated that interdepartmental cooperation was crucial during the drafting of the guidelines, and a strategic document for the development of the media field is currently being developed. Therefore, an evaluation of what has been achieved in the media field over the past five years is extremely necessary at this time. Different programming could direct the media to promote media literacy, and national policies in the field of media literacy must be aimed at everyone, especially the older population. Although there is a Fund for the Promotion of Pluralism and Diversity of Electronic Media, the media do not understand the importance of working on media literacy, highlighted Robert Tomljenović from the AEM. He added that the conclusions of the Council on Media Literacy in a constantly changing world from 2020 should be taken as a starting point for further development of media literacy.

The consultation meeting was organized within the project UP.04.2.1.06.0047 Media Education Matters.MOV, co-financed by the European Social Fund. The content of this article is the sole responsibility of Gong.