Media and Information Literacy for climate change and environmental topics

<< Background >>Digital technologies have made media ubiquitous, shaping public debates and influencing perceptions on crucial issues like climate change. While these platforms provide access to information, they also serve as echo chambers for disinformation. Here, media literacy comes into play.Very often, traditional and digital media amplify the urgency of the climate crisis, communicate key facts about climate change, and debunk climate change denial and other conspiracy theories. It is crucial for people to understand how this content is produced, for what purposes, and based on what sources. Without trust in climate change science, policymaking in a democratic society can’t address the serious threats in the future.The need for this project lies in the insufficient level of media and information literacy (MIL) among youth in understanding sustainability. While many youths engage with MIL, it is rarely connected to climate issues. Youth workers often lack the skills and resources to integrate MIL into climate related education, and there is a shortage of accessible training materials and up-to-date research on young people MIL competences. Collaboration between organizations is also lacking, limiting the exchange of best practices.<< Objectives >>The project focuses on raising partners' capacities and providing practical tools for youth workers and youth, starting with research showing the real-time situation in involved countries. The research collected data on youth media literacy in Croatia, Portugal, and Estonia by engaging 731 young people, analyzing reports, and publishing a study report. An educational toolkit with 20 workshops was created for youth workers to support young people in critically consuming media, ensuring its practical use. Furthermore, 310 young people improved their media literacy skills through an interactive online course, while 62 youth workers received training to implement local activities. The project also focused on broad dissemination, reaching 30+ organizations, 300+ youth workers, and 1000+ young people outside direct project activities through online outreach and local conferences in the three partner countries.<< Implementation >>The project started from the implementation of research and collecting relevant data and presenting them, moved to the development of a toolkit for youth workers and an online course for youth; and continued to direct dissemination of the outputs among youth workers and youth organisations, actively involving 310 young people in an online course and educating 62 youth workers of partners for implementation of 20 educational workshops dealing with media and information literacy in green topics.<< Results >>731 young people involved in the research providing a broader picture of 3 involved countries, a Toolkit with 20 educational workshops, Online learning course for youth - 310 young people raised their competencies in media and information literacy, 62 youth workers raised their competencies for local-level activities and workshops, 1000+ young people, 300+ youth workers and 30+ youth organisations, including 4 network of organisations learned about new methods and tools that they can use in their everyday work on these topics.