NEW
EDUCATION
This has been said so often that we tend to believe it, but let's think again.
Daniel Kahneman
Critical thinking and analysis of new and changing times are necessary for the development of the community, which is why we are engaged in the development, accessibility, and diversity of non-formal educational programs in the region.
Since 2017, we have begun organizing small educational programs on media literacy and journalism, as well as entrepreneurship and youth work. Over time, the format has evolved and expanded.
This is how our educational laboratories for youth - schoolchildren and students - Media Lab, Business Lab, and Mediathon appeared. As well as special programs for educators throughout Europe.
MEDIA LAB
All programs imply the development of critical thinking and analysis skills, provide an opportunity to gain knowledge in an informal environment from leading experts (journalists, marketers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, operators, etc.), and most importantly, each program is full of a practical part, in which participants are allowed to apply the knowledge gained in reality.
Taken together, theoretical knowledge and practical work help to truly understand how different areas work, increase competence, gain experience, and develop skills that will be useful and relevant to the younger generation.
Media Lab is an educational project for young people, the goal of which is to help participants develop critical thinking and media literacy skills, as well as, together with professional journalists, radio and TV presenters, experts and mentors, gain skills and knowledge in creating, analyzing, promoting and editing content.
Each season of the Media Lab program is dedicated to a different topic, for example:
MEDIA LAB BALTICS
2019
This acceleration program was for 100 young people from the Baltic countries. Simultaneous online lectures were held in Siauliai (Lithuania), Daugavpils (Latvia), and Narva (Estonia). Afterward, there were three weeks of assignments for the teams. The final took place in Daugavpils, and the winning team received a grant for the purchase of technical equipment.
MEDIA LAB
StayAtHome
2020
In March 2020, due to the pandemic, our task was to find solutions not only for the development of our programs but also to motivate young people to stay at home. We created an online educational competition for media literacy, verification, and content creation. More than 200 participants from various countries watched lectures during the week and completed individual assignments online.
This is how our work to combat disinformation in the face of a pandemic began.
2020
MEDIA LAB
RADIO HACKATHON
In honor of the 95th anniversary of Latvian Radio, we organized a hackathon of ideas for young people. In 2020, a three-day hackathon took place in Daugavpils. 15 teams from all over Latvia started participating in the educational and practical program. Lectures were given by experts from Latvian Radio, Warsaw University, the US Embassy, LSM, IREX, Start Strong, and marketing agencies. A separate educational program has also been prepared for schoolteachers in Latvia.
2021
During the pandemic, misinformation and propaganda became a common problem in Europe, especially for the region of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the Caucasus. The Media Lab Critical Thinking program brought together over 110 participants from 10 countries.
Young journalists, media experts, and researchers conducted several online courses, and participants completed assignments individually. Working with young people from various regions was a challenge for us, but we are ready to continue to create programs in the Baltic region and beyond.
MEDIATHON
MEDIA LAB
БАЛТИЯ
In 2020, our community of young journalists formed in the three Baltic countries. Throughout the year, they have been creating text, audio, and video content. In the summer, we organized a practical workshop for participants from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Belarus in a hybrid format. These were lectures from professional journalists on storytelling, stylistics, and linguistics.
2020
The final stage was an accelerator and the development of pilot versions of radio programs. The winners were announced on the Latvian Radio program "Generation Z".
The winner was a team that created a podcast with famous Latvian musicians who improvised and talked about the art pieces, as the participants wanted to create an inclusive format that allows blind people to explore the artwork. The winners received a set of technical equipment for creating a radio station at the school.
MEDIA LAB
CRITICAL THINKING
Hackathon of social media campaigns, the purpose of which is to draw attention to specific topics, issues, problems by creating innovative and environmentally friendly media companies. The format combines lectures on the creation of media companies and practical work on the implementation of ideas. Participants work in teams, during the project; the teams advise and mentor mentors from the media sphere. After a week of individual work, the participants present to the jury a concept and a plan of their idea, after which the finalists of the qualifying round work on a pilot version of their media company. At the end of the hackathon, one or several winning teams are identified. Thus, the program leads the participants from training and consultations with specialists and mentors to planning and implementing their ideas with the opportunity to have a real impact on the disclosed specific topics in the region.
The first MEDIATHON was aimed at helping to overcome the crisis caused by COVID-19, as well as helping Latvian society in the fight against misinformation about this topic in the region.
The first two days passed with lectures from Toms Grevins (creative director of Pieci), Marta Cerava (editor-in-chief of LSM), and Evita Purini (media research laboratory Re: Baltica). Further, during the week, each team worked on its own media campaign, concentrating on solving the assigned tasks.
In the final, 6 teams presented their pilot versions, which, at the local and national level, can help residents of Latvia fight fake news, disinformation, learn how to verify sources in the media, thereby minimizing the impact, and also learn more about vaccinations or through creative performances remind about the restrictions that we are protected.
Two teams became the winners. After the winners were identified, mentors from Baltic Center for Media Excellence and LSM worked with the finalists to help the teams launch their social media campaigns in the regions, on Latvian Radio and LSM.
BUSINESS LAB
This is a format of an educational simulation game for schoolchildren and students on the topic of entrepreneurship. The goal of the program is not only to tell and show how a business can work but to enable the participant to comprehend in detail and integrate into the most diverse aspects of the business environment (targeting, management, market analysis, planning, teamwork, the delegation of responsibilities, financial literacy, communication, etc.)
Our task is to develop the potential of young entrepreneurs and schoolchildren from Student Enterprises (SMU).
A simulation business game offers a full or partial reflection of business processes, simulates a situation in which team members compete in solving the problems of entrepreneurs and consumers. The proposed situations require participants to have mental flexibility, the ability to work in a team, strategic, analytical, and critical thinking, which will allow them to make decisions that will directly affect the success of business processes. Thanks to this format, participants can experiment, learn new tools, and not be afraid to make mistakes.
For the first time, the game was held in 2017 in Latvia,
the program was developed jointly with the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (Daugavpils Business Incubator).
