“Media education should be included in school curricula”. This was said at the end of the training session in Ferizaj, where the topic “Media education against disinformation for students from non-majority communities in Kosovo” was discussed.
Young people from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in secondary schools shared their experiences, where they talked about the cases when they faced fake news.
About 20 students from Ferizaj, in separate groups, have illustrated the cases of malicious information, fake news, misinformation and propaganda made by the media in Kosovo.
Professor Emin Sadiku from the economic school “Faik Konica” says that the young people of the communities are being attacked to a large extent by fake news.
“Students often argue with each other through social networks, sometimes it can even lead to a small fight, pushing, swearing or any disagreement… they come as a result of misinformation and misuse they can do”, he said.
He also talks about the cases of how after the holidays, students have uncertainty as to whether classes will begin, as a result of the spread of disinformation.
“When the winter holidays end, there are sometimes cases where, as a result of misinformation, it is said, “no, we are not starting this Monday, no, the lesson is postponed.” These cases sometimes cause confusion among students and young people”, he said while talking about cases of misinformation.
While talking about trainings on media education, he considers that such trainings help young people to identify fake news and not fall prey to it.
Meanwhile, according to trainer Linda Baleta, media education should be included in school curricula so that young people have as much knowledge as possible about the danger that comes from fake news.
“What we have identified during these sessions since the beginning of this project is how great the need is for young people and not only young people but also other age groups to have as much knowledge as possible about the danger and threat that comes from unverified news, fake news, and misinformation. Maybe it’s time to think seriously about including media education in school curricula”, she said.
Furthermore, she emphasizes that in the training sessions, a great need has been identified for the young people of the communities to be able to distinguish fake news.
“The ‘media education’ program focuses on young people who come mainly from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, being the request of the US Embassy. We have been to many municipalities and we will continue to go to other municipalities, there are still more. All the municipalities of Kosovo are included, I believe that we will be at least once in each city to meet with the young people of these age groups and their professors who also become part of the trainings”, said Baleta.
During Thursday, young people from secondary schools in Ferizaj were trained in information sources, with the aim of developing critical thinking regarding media content.
The project “Media education against disinformation for teachers, students and civil society activists from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities” is supported by the United States Embassy in Prishtina. /Sh. Pajaziti
