Generally, young people in Slovakia know that they would like to do something more for themselves and the planet, but many times they do not know how to do it. In many cases, they misinterpret individual media outcomes, which lead to wrong decisions. On the other hand, media education in schools is mostly missing or failing to reach the required level. The project, Object-lens 21: Young reporters for civil society, responds to the need to develop media and civic literacy of pupils in schools.
The project contributes to the media skills of the youth by creating a methodological handbook for the 2nd grade of primary school, which deals with the topic of civic participation, climate change, city planning, waste and the question of where to turn if we encounter any problem in society. Each package will include a short video and methodological material, focusing on classroom work and interactive activities.
The project intends to help the teachers through the creation of interactive teaching programs. These programs will be tested as pilot programs in 5 schools with the involvement of trained teachers. Pupils can thus learn how to "read" media, why is it important investigative journalism and how they can create and publish their own a reports (notice boards, school web, online regional media). Students and teachers of the participating schools can take part in workshops, and young people over 15 years old can participate in a 5-day reportage mission. The participants of the project try to involve at least 10 schools during the duration of the whole project.
The project aims to increase the media literacy of young people through interesting reportage activities and encourage youth towards a greater interest in the world around them (civil participation or environment). The project focuses on the youth while trying to inspire them to implement small projects in their surroundings and improve their media skills.