European University Cyprus trains youth to exercise critical thinking about media
Within the framework of the European program “The European MediaCoach Initiative-EMCI”, educational seminars will begin in October for the training of people who will assume the role of media coach, thus enabling them to promote relevant topics to young people. The announcement was made during a press conference held today at European University Cyprus.
The seminars will be offered free of charge to 100 people working with youth – such as, primary and middle school teachers, social workers, youth agencies and organizations – and will run for ten weeks.
Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromos congratulated European University Cyprus, which is the coordinator of the program that he described as “very useful and necessary”. In his address, he said that “the digital world is a reality that nevertheless raises many questions; to some concerns and to others fear about the undesirable phenomena that accompany the amazing possibilities of disseminating information”.
In his address, read by the Director of Technology of the Institute of Education, Mr. Anastasia Economou, Minister of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth Dr. Constantinos Hambiarouris, underlined the necessary collective effort to educate children in the critical use of media, noting the significant contribution made by this European program.
The Rector of European University Cyprus Professor Costas Gouliamos highlighted the timelessness of the problem with references to the philosopher Pyrrhon of Ilion (360-270 BC). “Communication literacy skills are a continuous learning process,” he said.
The European program European MediaCoach Initiative-EMCI (Erasmus+, Key Action 3) promotes media literacy and critical thinking for young people (Media Education). The program is based on the successful model adopted by the Dutch education system. The Dutch standard will be transposed and adapted in five countries participating in the project: Cyprus, Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria, and Romania. The Cyprus Pedagogical Institute participates as a partner in the program.