Partnership for positive change – building partnership for future collaborative work, building the capacity of our educational programs in media literacy and journalism
The Local Action Plan implemented by New East focuses on strengthening media literacy and combating disinformation in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Founded in 2016 in Daugavpils, Latvia, New East aims to foster community engagement and cultural development through innovative educational programs. The Local Action involved collaborations with civil society organizations (CSOs), educational institutions, and cultural entities in Serbia and Poland, seeking to share knowledge and resources to build resilient communities in the face of disinformation challenges.
Key activities included workshops, knowledge-sharing sessions, and strategic discussions held in cities like Daugavpils – Latvia, Belgrade, Novi Sad – Serbia and Warsaw, Poland. Key actions included:
- Workshops and Seminars: Conducted various workshops focusing on media literacy education, critical thinking, and disinformation awareness, attracting participants from different backgrounds.
- Resource Sharing: Collaborated with partner organizations to compile a database of educational materials, methodologies, and best practices tailored to our local context. ● Cultural Initiatives: Organized cultural programs that utilized art to address complex societal issues related to disinformation and media consumption
“For the past eight years, we have been dedicated to combating misinformation and manipulation in the media landscape. The challenges we face are constantly evolving, becoming more complex with new technologies and techniques. This is why it’s essential for us to remain in a continuous process of learning and exploring new methodologies. Our project has provided us the opportunity to adopt innovative tools and resources while connecting with experts in countries that confront similar issues.” Joren Dobkiewicz – Head of New East, Founder of Media Lab Program
Targeting Impact: Connecting Educators, Youth, and Civil Society
The Project targeted various groups, including educators, youth, civil society organizations, and community members in Daugavpils and beyond. Our activities included workshops, discussions, and collaborative projects with organizations, NGO, education and culture centres in Serbia and Poland. The target audience for these actions were key representatives of New East who were directly involved in the project, including the organization’s leaders, non-formal education program managers, and international program curator. Also the target audience is the New East team including cultural program curators, experts, methodologists, communication department, etc. A total of 18 team members were involved with the methodologies and forms of educational programs received from the partners. In addition, through local brainstorms, conversations and discussions, we engaged with civil society organizations working in the field of media literacy, media, education, culture and technology stakeholders, as well as communities and individuals in the Baltic, Eastern European and Balkan countries. In total, the project also expanded to 24 representatives from Poland and Serbia, as well as over 40 local leaders from Daugavpils, Riga and surrounding areas. Also through social media, we actively shared the progress of the project, emphasizing the importance of media literacy, the speed of development of this field and the existence of different approaches. Over 5,000 people followed the development of the project in an online format, and posts and social media interactions subsequently catalyzed conversations and discussions among the community and the New East team.
Bridges of Cooperation: How Our Project Connects Communities
The project has produced an incredible amount of results and has been an effective catalyst for change. The implementation of the project yielded several significant results, contributing to the overarching goals of enhancing media literacy and combating disinformation in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Here are the key outcomes: Strengthened partnerships: We established links with various organizations, activists, laying the groundwork for joint initiatives aimed at increasing media literacy and fighting misinformation in the regions. Collaborative projects: New collaborative initiatives have been identified and are planned to be submitted for upcoming Erasmus Small Partnership applications and other types of Erasmus+ projects. These include the Empower Peacemakers program, aimed at promoting coexistence and dialogue in post-conflict regions. We are also planning a collaboration with the University of Warsaw, in the framework of creating a joint educational program that will combine our practical approach to gamification and their theoretical, academic base within the topic of media and information consumption. In total about 6 joint project ideas were discussed. Also through this experience we have found experts for our educational programs and plan to collaborate not only in the creation of joint projects, but also in the exchange of professional resources and experts.
Resource sharing and capacity building: Partners provided valuable training materials, methodologies, best practices. which included the use of a variety of tools and platforms for teaching media literacy and critical thinking that will be adapted and incorporated into our future programs.
“Our collaboration with partners in Serbia and Poland has proven to be incredibly effective. By sharing expertise and resources, we have not only expanded our knowledge base but also created a foundation for ongoing projects that will significantly enhance media literacy across regions. The synergy between our organizations shows how partnerships can amplify impact, enabling us to reach more communities and create meaningful, long-lasting change.”Viktors Andruškevičs – International media literacy program curator at New East.
New Perspective: The meetings allowed us to look at our educational programs from a different perspective and based on the experience of partners to see the potential in new topics (e.g., partners shared their experience with stereotypes, hate speech), formats (e.g., working on media literacy through the creation of films, video educational materials) and audiences (many partners spoke about their experience working with parents and trainers). This information broadened our horizons of interest in the topic and approach. Next year we plan to expand our educational programs more on the topic of violent speech, fight against stereotypes and create a program that includes joint involvement of children and parents in the topic of media literacy for greater effectiveness and absorption of information. During the implementation of the project, we met with 13 organizations, education centres, and cultural authorities from three cities. Creation of a Database of Useful Resources: We successfully compiled a comprehensive database of valuable educational materials gathered from our partner organizations. This database serves as acrucial resource for enhancing our media literacy programs, providing trainers and educators with access to diverse methodologies, best practices, and tools for effectively addressing issues such as disinformation and critical thinking. By centralizing these resources, we aim to streamline the process of developing educational content and ensure that our initiatives are well-informed by the latest insights in the field.
“The potential of this project is immense. We are already working on adapting the tools we have acquired into our educational programs and planning strategic partnerships with collaborators from Serbia and Poland. It’s truly inspiring to envision the wealth of information and skills our future participants will gain at regional, national, Eastern European and Balcan levels.” Alina Hachetlova – New East Board Member, Head of educational projects
Organizing Team Meetings to Present Results and Facilitate Brainstorming: We organized a series of meetings with our team to present the findings and outcomes of our collaborative efforts. These sessions not only showcased the new methodologies and resources acquired from our partners but also encouraged open discussions among team members. This brainstorming process allowed us to explore innovative ideas for future programs, fostering a collaborative environment that prioritizes continuous improvement and adaptation to the evolving landscape of media literacy and disinformation. The exchange of ideas and feedback during these meetings is expected to enhance the effectiveness of our initiatives moving forward.
“Listening to my colleagues share their experiences from Serbia and Poland was incredibly enlightening. The new methods and tools not only broadened our understanding of media literacy, but also inspired me personally to adapt these methods for our programs for older adults. The misinformation challenges we face are the same in many countries, and learning from each other is essential to creating effective strategies that truly empower our communities.” Marina Ivanova -Coordinator of the Media Literacy Skills Lab program for seniors
The numerous meetings (3 to 5 per day) within the project allowed us to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders and obtain a large amount of information in a short period of time, but we faced a small challenge that the tight timeframe sometimes prevented us from fully processing and documenting the information obtained. We needed some more time for additional processing after returning to Latvia. In the future, we should definitely allocate more time for processing information after meetings in order to manage information more efficiently.
In conclusion, the project has been a transformative journey for our organization and the communities we serve. Through meaningful collaboration with partners in Poland and Serbia, we have strengthened our understanding of media literacy and disinformation challenges. This experience has not only enriched our methodologies and resources but has also built a network of potential collaborators dedicated to promoting media literacy. As we move forward, the insights and connections gained will undoubtedly enhance our efforts in fostering informed and resilient communities.
New East to continue to create local and international media literacy programs for youth, adults and seniors. If you would like to participate in our programs or collaborate by sharing your experiences we are happy to communicate, create and develop the topic of media literacy together. Let’s build a more informed and resilient society.
