by Information Matters partners consortium.
The project aims to improve the media and digital literacy of people over 55 so they can cope with the infodemic. This age group is from the analogue generation, so we needed to develop sensitivity in adults about which messages are fake news and misinformation, as well as skills to use the online space responsibly and safely, says Spaska Tarandova, the Executive Director of Global Libraries – Bulgaria, the organisation leading the Information Matters (IM) project.
Information Matters is an initiative aimed at enhancing digital and media literacy among older people across Europe. In response to the growing infodemic, misinformation, and fake news with the increasing digitisation and the rise of AI, the project targets vulnerable populations, particularly those over the age of 55, to equip them with the skills needed to navigate within the complexities of the digital world. Through interactive learning materials covering several digital and media literacy topics and targeted training programmes for both older citizens and adult educators, the project aims to close the gap of the generational digital divide and foster informed communities and digital citizens in Bulgaria, Austria, and Romania.
The project was implemented with the financial support of the EU under the Erasmus+ Programme, by five partner organisations experienced in media literacy practices, adult education and vocational training, communication: Global Libraries – Bulgaria Foundation, the project coordinator (Bulgaria), EAVI – European Association for Viewers Interests (Belgium), BEST Institut (Austria), CREFOP Foundation (Romania), PR CARE (Bulgaria). All project activities were executed between December 2022 and October 2024.
In the scope of the IM project 10 main educational modules were developed outlining the content to be covered within the training of adult trainers and thereafter within the trainers’ practice of informal education in media and digital literacy for seniors. For this purpose, the 10 topics were also transformed into 10 educational videos adapted to serve the needs of older users and published on YouTube to be easily accessible by a broad audience. Both the Training programme of 10 learning modules, as well as the videos are available in 4 different languages (Bulgarian, English, German and Romanian) and can be reached on the project website.
Here are the titles of the 10 modules, from which you can better understand what the whole programme concept is about:
- Media Literacy, Concepts & Theory
- Media Literacy for Older People
- Media Literacy and Technology
- Media Literacy Hardware & Software
- Media Literacy & Digital Well-Being
- Media Literacy & Digital Services
- Media Literacy & Social Media Platforms
- Media Literacy & Disinformation
- Media Literacy & Privacy
- Media Literacy & Citizens Participation
The content design of the IM educational materials was deliberately planned to better serve older users, taking possible partial visual impairment into account, as well as their interests and experience (for example, the font style and its size, the colours and content of the visual materials, as well as the availability of both audio and subtitles for the videos in all languages, and including a photosensitive epilepsy warning)
In 2024 the IM pilot training took place in Bulgaria, Austria and Romania, resulting in the schooling of 170 adult trainers across the three countries who in turn trained altogether over 400 people aged over 55. The IM training course for adult educators was developed by the Information Matters experts team with the aim to provide autonomous self-paced learning in the form of a free digital online course, with an overall engagement of up to 24 hours. The course was therefore constructed in 10 lessons covering the topics listed above, providing theoretical introduction and basic concepts, practical ideas and forms for self-evaluation, as well as additional resources on each of the modules. By completing it, the experienced adult trainers exit the course confident enough to provide media and digital literacy education for people over the age of 55. And even if the profile of the adult trainers who took part in the pilot training was diverse – vocational trainers, librarians, IT admins – by completing the IM training they shared a high level of satisfaction.
Following the training of trainers, during the summer months of 2024 older users in Austria, Bulgaria and Romania enrolled in the IM in-person pilot training programme on digital and media literacy to acquire basic knowledge towards the practical application of electronic devices and apps in support of their daily activities, such as online searching and communication, protecting email, creating strong passwords, travel booking, and internet banking safety rules. The senior trainees were also introduced via games and group discussions into some more complex topics such as digital well-bing, online civic participation, or fake news recognition, thus leaving the course more sure-footed and critical towards the online world. Adult trainers from Bulgaria shared that the main motivation of the participants in the training was to become equals with their children and grandchildren in a digital environment and to be able to solve their problems.
Read here the IM Case Studies Report to follow the stories that illustrate the power of media literacy education and its fundamental relevance in today’s society. In it, through the voices of both trainers and learners, we gain a vivid picture of how the project has so far influenced the learners’ digital competencies to navigate in the digital environment in a meaningful way, as well as their critical thinking skills in developing resilience against fake news and misinformation online.
We live in a complex digitised environment where the easiest way for many activities to be done is online. It is no coincidence that the UN Summit has set a target of developing a media literacy curriculum in all countries by 2030. In this regard, projects like Information Matters are very useful because older people are adapting to the digital environment and becoming socially engaged., says Semih Solmaz, Project and Development Manager at EAVI.
For everyone interested in the IM project or who are working in a media literacy curriculum, it could be useful to also mention that all IM educational materials are developed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. The meaning of the license abbreviation is: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International, which explained means that this license requires the reusers to give credit to the creator; it allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and built upon the material in any medium or format, but for noncommercial purposes only; also, if others modify or adapt the material, they must license the modified material under identical terms.
Moving forward, the Information Matters project should continue to expand by reaching even more senior citizens across Europe and providing them with the tools they need to thrive in an increasingly digital environment. The stories shared by the learners and trainers illustrate education’s transformative power in navigating the digital world. So far, the project activities demonstrated the significant impact digital and media literacy training can have on older populations in Bulgaria, Austria, and Romania since the training sessions equipped participants with practical skills and fostered a sense of empowerment and community engagement. Through dedicated trainers’ efforts and participants’ enthusiasm, the project has shown significant advancements in bridging the digital divide among its participants.
