The global rise of digital technologies, disinformation, and declining trust in democratic institutions presents significant challenges to educators. Teachers must now adapt their methods to equip students with the skills necessary to navigate an ever-changing world. The Teachers 4.0 Digital project, aimed at upskilling educators in media and digital literacy while teaching students how to recognise disinformation, stands at the heart of these challenges.
Although, undoubtedly, disinformation is a global threat, some countries are more vulnerable than others and, among European countries, Romania seems to qualify as one of the most vulnerable. Thus, Romania’s low rates of digital and media literacy present significant challenges for its citizens and society. In 2023, only 28% of Romanians aged 16 to 74 had basic digital skills, lagging far behind the EU average of 55% (Eurostat, 2024). Moreover, the European Media Literacy Index 2023 ranked Romania fourth out of five clusters, indicating low levels of media literacy (Lessenski, 2023). This lack of digital and media education may very well be one of the contributing factors to the spread of disinformation and social polarization.
Given its history of state-controlled media and propaganda, Romania faces important challenges in cultivating a critical and informed citizenry. Media education projects, such as Teachers 4.0 Digital, are therefore essential to equip individuals with the skills to navigate a complex media landscape and be able to discern between reliable and biased information. Nicoleta Fotiade, founder and president of Mediawise Society, after experiencing European partnerships in media education over 20 years span, says: “These types of European partnerships help promote media literacy education at different ages and educational levels and encourage media users to practice their critical thinking skills, the most constructive way so far to downplay the spread of disinformation online and offline.”
These projects can help counter the legacy of ex-communist countries and promote media literacy, fostering a more resilient and democratic society, fighting against the pervasive influence of disinformation and propaganda (Lessenski, 2023).
In this context, the experience of Mediawise Society, one of the Romanian partners in the project, is of paramount importance. This article explores how Mediawise Society’s past and current projects can inform and support the objectives of Teachers 4.0 Digital. Focusing on three projects that Mediawise Society has been developing (namely Changing Democracy, Mind Over Media and Mediawise Teachers), we’ll showcase how its decade-long work on democracy, media influence, propaganda, and media literacy synergizes with the Teachers 4.0 Digital initiative. Ultimately, this article argues that Teachers 4.0 Digital fits perfectly into Mediawise’s ongoing mission and teaching and training programs to build and empower a national community of media educators equipped to promote and protect civic and democratic values in Romania while teaching media education.
Changing Democracies and Teachers 4.0 Digital
The Changing Democracies project (2023-2025, funded by the EU’s CERV programme) aims to foster a deeper understanding of the democratic crisis by examining Europe’s history with communism, dictatorship, resistance, and democratic transitions. By interviewing witnesses and offering educational resources, this project encourages reflection on democracy’s current state and explores how active citizenship can be nurtured.
Several valuable lessons from Changing Democracies are directly applicable to Teachers 4.0 Digital. One such lesson is using historical context to foster critical thinking. By understanding the transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, educators can help students recognize how fragile democracy can be. This understanding can be incorporated into the Teachers 4.0 Digital curriculum to highlight present-day threats to democracy, drawing parallels between past and current challenges.
In an age of rising polarization and authoritarian tendencies, this type of historical literacy is vital. By understanding the roots of democratic decline, students can develop critical thinking skills that are essential for identifying extremist propaganda in the digital age.
Mind Over Media and Teachers 4.0 Digital
Mind Over Media (2016-2020, funded by the EC DG Connect) tackled the pervasive influence of modern propaganda and emphasized the need for education that helps individuals recognize and respond to it. Today, propaganda is more subtle and omnipresent, making it crucial for students to develop critical thinking skills.
Key intersections between Mind Over Media and Teachers 4.0 Digital include the focus on critical thinking and media literacy. Mind Over Media teaching methods and educational materials engage students in discussions about propaganda, providing an ideal foundation for Teachers 4.0 Digital, which aims to foster digital literacy and recognize and take action against disinformation in today’s media-saturated environment. The approaches and tools developed in Mind Over Media can be seamlessly integrated into the Teachers 4.0 Digital curriculum, equipping students and teachers alike with the skills to resist manipulation and disinformation.
Additionally, both projects recognize the critical role educators play in shaping students’ understanding of media, media use and democracy. By empowering teachers with knowledge and pedagogical tools, Mind Over Media laid the groundwork for Teachers 4.0 Digital, which seeks to further prepare teachers to guide students through the complexities of digital citizenship and media consumption.
MEDIAWISE4all and Teachers 4.0 Digital
Starting 2023, MEDIAWISE4all is the pivotal leadership programme of Mediawise Society aiming at developing a community of media educators (teachers, trainers and even librarians or any other educational professionals) to integrate media education in formal and non-formal teaching contexts across Romania. So far, in order to achieve this ambitious scope in a context where very few media educators have training experience in Romania, the programme focuses on two main components: Mediawise Community (Training of Trainers) and Mediawise Teachers Professional Development Component.
The Mediawise Community targets professionals such as librarians, NGO workers, and educators, providing training contexts to learn how to teach media education. While Mediawise Teachers focuses specifically on the professional development of primary, secondary, and high school teachers, helping them integrate media education across curriculum. By co-creating learning scenarios, this programme encourages educators to foster critical media engagement in their classrooms with the support of an integrated mentorship scheme during the whole school year.
The foundation laid by MEDIAWISE4all aligns directly with Teachers 4.0 Digital, which shares the mission of empowering educators with the skills and knowledge needed to foster critical thinking, media literacy, and digital resilience among students. The Teachers 4.0 Digital project builds on MEDIAWISE4all’s legacy by providing a specialised focus on recognizing disinformation in the digital media.
Mediawise Society’s Role in Teachers 4.0 Digital
The Teachers 4.0 Digital project fits seamlessly into Mediawise Society’s decade-long efforts to promote media literacy and strengthen democratic values. Through initiatives like Changing Democracies, Mind Over Media, and MEDIAWISE4all, Mediawise has been creating a community of educators prepared to tackle disinformation and media manipulation.
Together, these projects demonstrate the critical role that media literacy education plays in supporting a healthy democracy, showing how the Teachers 4.0 Digital project enhances and continues Mediawise Society’s mission to create a strong community of media educators in Romania.
References
Eurostat (2024). Digital skills in 2023: impact of education and age (22 February). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20240222-1#:~:text=In%202023%2C%2055%25%20of%20people,Netherlands%20to%2028%25%20in%20Romania.
Lessenski, M. (2023). “Bye, bye, birdie”: Meeting the Challenges of Disinformation. The Media Literacy Index 2023. Policy Brief. Sofia, Open Society Institute – Sofia (June) Retrieved from https://osis.bg/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MLI-report-in-English-22.06.pdf.