The Story of a High School Student - From Media Literacy to Social Maturity

Like most of his peers, he spent hours scrolling through the internet, to passively absorb news and other content that the Internet provides. He says he has never done much research. He had some basic knowledge of the media and information.

Martin decided to attend the course "Basics of Media Literacy - Understanding the Media, Disinformation and Manipulation" which consists of 4 workshops.  

Through the workshops the participants learned to recognize fake news, check sources, and understand how the media can manipulate content. This course has prompted Martin to understand and analyze the role of the media, as well as pay attention and critically look at the content he watches on the Internet every day, but also to reconsider his own attitudes. 

Educating young people on responsible media usage can significantly reduce youth conflicts by helping them develop critical thinking skills, recognize misinformation, and communicate more respectfully both online and offline. This activity is part of a broader program focused on peer-to-peer conflict resolution capacity building, as well as strengthening students’ skills in empowerment and active participation in decision-making processes. By combining media literacy with these key competencies, the program fosters a more inclusive, respectful, and resilient school environment.

The project Youth Empowered through Inclusive Schools and Societies (YESS), supported by the UN Peacebuilding Fund, takes a bottom-up, community-based approach, using schools and their surrounding communities as entry points to engage young girls and boys, especially those from marginalized groups historically underrepresented in decision-making. The PBF YESS project targets 11 municipalities and 54 schools. It started in January 2024 and up to now it has reached more than 8,600 students and young people (60% female) and nearly 600 teachers (68% female) from Albanian, Serbian, Goran, Bosnian, Roma, Turkish, and Croatian backgrounds. The interventions have included capacity-building training and workshops on conflict resolution, peer mediation, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence, along with awareness-raising activities, residential trainings, coaching sessions, youth camps, and language courses.

For Martin, these workshops were more than just extracurricular activities. They opened up new, unknown spaces. "The workshops further broadened my horizons and helped me to recognize with certainty what is accurate information and what is not," says Martin.

"I used to take everything for granted, but now I'm analyzing and verifying information. I feel like I've become more mature in my thinking," he adds. 

Now, Martin doesn't hesitate to make his voice heard, he uses the arguments he knows how to back it up, and, most importantly, he feels empowered and more confident in public discussions. 

"Now I notice much faster when someone is trying to cover up the truth. I know that I look at multiple sources and that I don't draw conclusions right away. I feel more confident when discussing topics related to media and information. I'm no longer afraid to express my opinion, because I have arguments and I know how to substantiate them," Martin explains the importance of empowering young people through this approach. 

He adds that people from his environment, parents, teachers, friends, have noticed a change in him due to his participation in these activities. 

"They've noticed a change. They say that I think more maturely and responsibly, and some have even started to inquire about the topics I mentioned. They are proud of me," says Martin

He even shared with them what, he had heard and learned. "I talked to friends; I even shared some useful links and tips that I received during the workshops."

This, he says, is the most important experience of participating in these activities.

"The most inspiring thing for me was when I realized that I can also influence others – when I shared some useful information and saw that others took it seriously," says this charming high school student.

Martin thinks it's important for young people to understand how the media works and how to protect themselves from misinformation. He believes that this is the knowledge that everyone needs, and that is why he has a message for his peers, when it comes to such programs.

"I would tell them not to hesitate and to take the opportunity to learn something useful. These programs can really change the way we look at the world around us, they are for me," says Martin.

Martin's story is more than a personal success story. This is the story of a young boy, a high school student, who is dedicated to his development and education and who strives to use the knowledge and skills he acquires not only for his own progress, but also for the benefit of the environment in which he lives. Through participation in various programs, Martin actively contributes to the creation of an empowered, solidary and educated society. 

Through education, dialogue and programmes such as the YESS project, young people like Martin not only learn how to understand the media, but also become active promoters of peace and understanding in their communities.

Through the YESS program, from March to June, Kontakt Plus organized four workshops on the topic "Basics of Media Literacy - Understanding the Media, Disinformation and Manipulation", for primary and secondary school students from the regions of Kamenica/ë, Štrpce/Shtërpcë, Mitrovica North and Zubin Potok/ Zubinpotok.

Fifty-two (52) students from schools from Serbian communities in Kosovo participated in training in the field of media and media literacy, with the aim of developing critical thinking, understanding of media content and the ability to recognize disinformation. During the workshops, students had the opportunity to get acquainted with the analysis of media content, as well as the responsible use of social networks. The training is designed to provide young people with the tools they need to navigate in the modern information environment and contribute to their more active and informed participation in society.

The lecturer, Professor of Sociology Slobodan Miljković, pointed out that media literacy is as important as primary education today, because children and young people are coming into contact with a large amount of information that can shape their thinking and behavior on a daily basis.

He believes that these types of workshops are crucial, because through the informal form of education, a very important topic is studied. 

"Students then, through the spontaneous work, talk, share their opinions and in the best possible way absorb certain knowledge, which will be part of their identity and critical thinking," says Miljković.

He adds that there should not be a certain pattern of what children should know about media literacy, but that work should be done to build critical thinking among students, children, so that they can independently recognize manipulation and fake news, from the true and real one.

"It's a process that needs to be worked on in order to have a healthy environment and a healthy society. Precisely because the media are all around us, and children are non-stop on their phones, and the Internet is a platform that allows everyone to be in the role of a journalist, but also a consumer of the news," concludes Professor Miljković, who prepared and led the workshops.

The production of this content is supported by UNICEF's program in Kosovo in partnership with the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, the UN Team in Kosovo, and the International Organization for Migration in Kosovo – IOM.