by Margarida Maneta and Mariana Muller, Lusófona University, CICANT, Portugal.
When challenged to think and express their voices, young people can easily take on the role of journalists. The YouNDigital newsroom can prove it.
Over the past six months, more than 72 news articles have been published, authored by young writers from Portugal to Macau. The YouNDigital newsroom, developed as part of the YouNDigital – Youth, News, and Digital Citizenship project, is based at Lusófona University/CICANT (Portugal). This collaborative initiative invites young people from around the world to produce content on topics that interest them, intersecting with the 2030 Agenda (such as education, gender, reducing inequalities, climate action, and particularly human rights issues, extremism, and misinformation).
Every month, a thematic challenge is published online. Until the end of September, literacy and participation served as a pretext for deeper reflections intersecting with journalism, citizenship, and critical thinking. Previous challenges can be consulted here.
The newsroom is open to the participation of young people from all over the world, recognising that diversity can enhance intercultural dialogue and the sharing of diverse viewpoints. Contributions are accepted in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, and Italian. The YouNDigital newsroom aims to promote the participatory action of young people, committed to an active, critical, and responsible civic attitude. To participate, there is a Login area and an editorial statute that lists a set of procedures and rules to consider before publishing, safeguarding against the use of offensive, violent, or hate-inciting language. No personal information is required to create a personal account.
The YouNDigital newsroom accepts contributions using sounds, videos, and other images, hyperlinks, and text. The secret is to let creativity flow.
Who can take part in the YouNDigital Newsroom?
✓ Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are the main actors of the YouNDigital Newsroom.
✓ Other people of other ages are welcome, as long as they bring topics that intersect with this editorial statute and the objectives of the YouNDigital project.
This year the YouNDigital project has released a public online database focused on youth, news and digital citizenship that comprises literature from the beginning of the 21st century. Our database is always open to contributions, you can access it here. We also invite you to subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated with all the latest news.
YouNDigital – Youth, News and Citizenship (DOI 10.54499/PTDC/COM-OUT/0243/2021) is a research project based in Lusófona University, CICANT, Portugal, and funded by The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The initiative is pioneering studying the link between young people, news, and their digital citizenship, seeking to understand these fluid dynamics in a society challenged by algorithms, and facilitating training in the area. The project is coordinated by Maria José Brites (CICANT, Lusófona University) and Teresa Sofia Castro (CICANT, Lusófona University).
Authors
Margarida Maneta, Research Team, Lusófona University, CICANT, Portugal.
Mariana Muller, Research Team, Lusófona University, CICANT, Portugal
