In this study visit, you will…

• Learn about most recent trends and realities of MIL in connection of youth work;
• visit interesting local projects and organisations actively working on MIL;
• exchange about best practices, challenges;
• create a basis for future cooperation and new projects to take place.

The target group:

• Representatives of organisations working actively in the youth field and with the topics of MIL;
• Media educators, researchers and experts interested in bringing MIL skills to European youth work;
• Youth activists, youth workers and others actively involved in connection to the topic of the study trip.

We only have space for about 15 participants and are looking for people actively engaged in running projects in the youth field with a clear interest in initiating MIL projects and international cooperation.

Goals of the study visit:

• Promote and develop MIL skills among youth workers, trainers and NGOs working with young people;
• Give a platform for cooperation and exchange of practices;
• Support in initiating Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps projects that tackle the topics of Media and Information Literacy as an accelerator and fundamental skill for democratic participation, civic initiative;
• Help to promote democracy and human rights through developing MIL skills.

And of course, this event celebrates the European Year of Youth and UNESCO’s Global Media and Information Literacy Week.

What will you learn and discover during the study visit?

We will meet organisations and experts who are active and experienced in coordinating activities in the field of MIL.

During this study visit, we…

• mix presentations with visiting organisations;
• engage in discussions online and offline;
• participate in working groups and workshops

We do this in a way so that the participants have an opportunity not only to listen and learn, but also to contribute and initiate topics of discussions.

The event is planned to take place in a hybrid way, combining online and offline participation.

Check out the preliminary programme for inspiration!
Preliminary agenda:

The programme includes lunches, dinners, coffee breaks and social programme, and foresees free times for the participants.

10th of October, MONDAY:

• Short online prep meeting with all selected participants and the organisers

23d of October, SUNDAY:

• Arrivals of the participants
• Welcome evening

24th of October, MONDAY:

• Getting to know each other
• Setting the ground for the week
• How do we understand MIL?
• MIL trends in youth work – presenting the results of the MIL analysis

25th of October, TUESDAY:

• Sharing MIL practices among the participants
• Visit to a local MIL project (TBS)
• Harvesting from the day

26th of October, WEDNESDAY:

• Visit to a local MIL project (TBS)
• Visit to a local MIL project (TBS)
• Visit to a local MIL project (TBS)
• Harvesting from the day

27th of October, THURSDAY:

• Overview of MIL in youth work
• Planning future projects together
• Open networking event with local organisations working on MIL topics
• Evaluation and closing

28th of October, FRIDAY:

• Departures

28th of November, MONDAY

• Short online follow-up meeting with all selected participants and the organisers

What is unique about this study visit?

The MIL topic –  there is no youth participation without Media and Information Literacy (MIL)! To participate in and contribute to a democratic and just society, everyone needs to have MIL skills. MIL is an essential component for democracy and human rights development. As the media is all around us, affecting all spheres of our lives, the relevance of MIL is hard to underestimate. Let’s explore it together! Find more information and resources about MIL from the Participation Resource Pool. You can use the filtering tool to search and find tools and content you’re most interested in.

The group of participants – we are expecting to have motivated and experienced participants willing to share and explore the deep ocean of MIL practices. We will dedicate time in the programme not only to learn from the experiences in Spain, but to share your own MIL practices with others. What is also important – we hope these new friendships will turn into international cooperation for years to come.

The local MIL projects and visits – we are doing our best to select a variety of local MIL practices to inspire, inform and encourage participants to try it out on your local level or internationally! From board games to radio stations – we will do our best!

The hybrid media event – with a professional video team we will create a set of videos and content about the MIL practices in Spain. Parts of the events will be live-streamed. As a result, a mini documentary will be created with interviews, case studies, etc. As a hybrid event, it brings together online and offline communities, giving more people the chance to learn and exchange.

MIL analysis – we are aiming to map most interesting activities and most relevant needs in the European youth field (project examples, tools, missing elements). In this analysis, we will be exploring activities that tackle media and communication and youth participation to see what the youth field could do in order to encourage more quality MIL projects and cooperation. And guess what – during the meeting you will have a chance to get to know the results!

About the organisers:

SALTO Participation and Information Resource Centre (SALTO PI)  – SALTO PI is one of the resource centres, established in 2018 and hosted by the Estonian National Agency of Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps. Being part of the SALTO-Youth network, it is focussing on promoting youth participation across Europe, and especially the EU youth programmes. SALTO PI works with four key topics: youth participation, media and information literacy, digital transformation and capacity building in strategic communication. SALTO PI organises training events, develops tools and strategies and promotes best practices in the field of its work. If you want to learn more about the work of SALTO PI, check out the Participation Resource Pool.

Nexes is a non-profit organisation born in 1999 and based in Barcelona. The team of Nexes consits of the youth workers, trainers and practitioners in non formal education and European programs, who joined together for their common ideals and interest in dialogue between cultures, the mobility of young people as a learning tool and active participation in the society. The main objective of our organisation is to promote intercultural learning and transnational cooperation, fight against social exclusion and boost active citizen participation, especially of young people. Nexes is also actively working to promote better MIL skills.

This study event is co-funded and organised in cooperation with the National Agencies from Estonia, Spain, Belgium (Flanders), Netherlands, Austria, Iceland, Portugal and SALTO Eastern Europe and Caucasus Resource Centre. The event is organised with the co-funding of Erasmus+ of the European Union.