Participation of the Department of Journalism in the Estonian-Ukrainian Media Literacy Project InfoTeen.Ua

On November 6–7, Natalia Ostrovska, associate professor of the Department of Journalism at Zaporizhia Polytechnic National University, and Oleksandr Nosok, a master’s student in the specialty “Journalism”, took part in the InfoTeen.Ua forum, which was held at the Ukrainian Catholic University as part of the International Media Literacy Week.

During the panel discussion “The Role of Higher Education Institutions in the Development of Media Literacy and Debate Culture among Youth,” Natalia Ostrovska introduced participants to the experience of the Department of Journalism in implementing media education initiatives – from integrating media literacy into curricula to implementing international projects that form critical thinking and active civic positions among youth. And Oleksandr Nosok, a master’s student and host of the media education podcast “There’s No Truth, Children,” spoke about the team’s work on its creation.

The InfoTeen.Ua forum was the final event of a year-long collaboration between Ukrainian and Estonian educators and media experts. As part of this project, Natalia Ostrovska conducted several media education webinars for teachers and students participating in the program.

The cooperation began with a visit by Ukrainian media literacy experts to Estonia, during which the participants learned about the Estonian experience in creating educational materials, academic approaches to media education, as well as the practices of implementing digital educational programs and media game methodologies.

The program was organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of Estonia with the support of the Estonian Center for International Development (ESTDEV).

Thank you for the opportunity of academic mobility! Getting to know Estonia’s experience in media education has shown that success lies not so much in technology as in human capital, strategic cooperation and creative approaches!