Mind Connected Media -European Youth Exchange Program

Media and the Internet have a profound influence on our views and the world around us. While media offers us many opportunities to learn and be entertained, some media is linked to negative influences on emotional wellbeing. We noticed similarities between attitudes toward media among participants from other parts of the world. At the same time, we noticed similarities in attitudes among participants from Western European countries. It was very interesting to see the differences and discussions of these two "blocs," which is why we conceived this idea for the project.

In many countries, youth have access to a greater number of multimedia choices than ever before—both audio-visual media and social media.

Information, email, and images flow around the world faster and more freely than ever. Indeed, mass media is making the world smaller, and culture and media are increasingly inextricable, especially for young people.

The main aim of this youth exchange (YE) is to develop skills in critical thinking and analysing information from the media. We plan to do that by using different types of games: debate games, board games, city games, and simulation games. This YE is designed for young people from East and West countries with different historical pasts. One of the aims of this project is to discuss and analyse the influence of the culture, mentality, and history of their country on the young generation and their capacity to analyse, reflect, and think critically about information from the media, to make life decisions.

The objectives of the project are:

• To develop skills in analysing articles from mass media.
• To raise awareness among young people about the necessity of checking the validity of sources and information.
• To increase the confidence of young people to speak out about their ideas.
• To raise confidence in creating their own blog/vlog/media portal.
• To raise the level of tolerance and appreciation for diversity in all its forms: culture, opinions, life choices.

This project will give participants the possibility to create an intercultural dialogue by meeting young people from different participating countries. By discovering the differences, but also the similarities between them, young people will increase their level of tolerance and acceptance of what is new to them. This YE will provide a platform for making and strengthening the collaboration between the involved organizations, creating new ideas for projects, and improving the quality of youth work and non-formal education. With the help of this project, we propose to develop in young people the ability to obtain correct information from the media and to reduce manipulation.

Countries involve: Germany, France, Bulgaria, Italy, and Turkey

Date: 15.01.2024 to 23.01.2024

Working language: English.

REGISTRATION FORM
Venue: Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk Jugendherberge Hamburg
Horner Rennbahn
Rennbahnstraße 100
22111 Hamburg

By Sahin Keksin