Media Lab > Borderlines

Media Lab > Borderlines is a cross-border educational initiative exploring the power of investigative journalism and media literacy as tools for democratic resilience. In 2024, the program traveled across four countries — Latvia (Daugavpils), Estonia (Narva), Lithuania (Vilnius), and Poland (Warsaw) — culminating in a vibrant final gathering at Zuzeum Art Centre in Riga.

The program brought together secondary school students and first-year university participants (aged 15–19) for a dynamic, hands-on experience focused on decoding the complexities of today's media landscape. Over the course of the Labs, young people became investigators, storytellers, and truth-seekers — building real skills to detect misinformation and counter propaganda through journalism.

Each city hosted an intensive program including: Expert-led lectures on disinformation and propaganda, workshops on data verification, visual misinformation, and the mechanics of manipulation, offline games, roleplay scenarios, and fact-checking competitions, team challenges that fostered collaboration, curiosity, and civic responsibility.

The best teams from each city were invited to Riga for the final event — a media literacy showdown and conference where participants engaged with leading journalists, researchers, and media activists from across the region.

But beyond competition, Borderlines created a temporary pan-Baltic newsroom — a space for dialogue, debate, and cross-border solidarity. Participants explored how media shapes identity, how borders influence narratives, and how young people can be agents of critical change in their own communities.

Why this matters:

 In a time of global conflict, shrinking trust, and media saturation, this program puts investigative tools directly into the hands of youth — encouraging them to ask questions, verify facts, and create space for truth. It also helps them imagine journalism not as something distant or institutional, but as a practice rooted in care, accountability, and justice.