Latest news with #DWAkademie
DW
3 days ago
- Business
- DW
Call for offers: Media literacy experts in Tunisia
DW Akademie is seeking MIL experts to support and strengthen youth-led civil society organizations in Tunisia. The EU-funded project "MIL4Peace" aims to promote stability and peace by enhancing the capacity of civil society in Lebanon, Libya, and Tunisia to engage youth in conflict prevention and peacebuilding. The project focuses on empowering youth-led organizations with tools and methods in Media and Information Literacy (MIL) to foster inclusive youth participation, particularly in the digital space. As part of this initiative, DW Akademie is seeking MIL experts (f/m/d) to support and strengthen youth-led civil society organizations in these efforts in Tunisia. Download the complete call below. Apply by June 20, 2025!
DW
4 days ago
- Health
- DW
Exile, journalism and gender in Central America
In a new study from DW Akademie and IPLEX, Central American women journalists in exile explain the challenges they face – and their resilience. Being a journalist in Central America is challenging enough, but the difficulties facing a journalist in exile can be even greater. For women journalists in exile in Central America, their work can be overwhelming. Although more recent attention has been paid to journalists in exile, very little has been focused on the experience of women in the context of exile. In this newly published paper, DW Akademie and IPLEX attempt to fill that knowledge gap so as to develop a better understanding of women journalists in exile. Exiled female journalists encounter specific pressures and challenges because of their gender, from why a journalist leaves her country of origin to integrating into a host country, women exiled journalists struggle precisely at the intersection between journalism, exile and gender. From DW Akademie's and IPLEX's new paper, downloadable in Spanish below, here are some takeaways from interviews collected from female journalists working in exile in Central America. Gendered violence: The violence that forces Central American women reporters to leave their countries usually comes from actors in power and is misogynistic in tone, with attacks that tend to focus on their physical appearance, their sexuality and their family roles. Their professional identity comes under attack. Online harassment in the form of hate speech, trolling and threats continue even after exile. Double burdens in exile: Journalists in exile find they are shut out of many spaces due to the stigma of their country of origin, legal struggles and gender stereotypes. This, coupled with the burden of gender-normative roles and household management, complicates their ability to work. Health issues: Both mental and physical health are challenges for these women journalists. The lack of economic stability can make basic care, including gynecological issues and follow-ups on preexisting issues, difficult. Psychological support is usually needed, but journalists in exile lack access to such care. "There is no way to be outside your country and have good mental health," said one journalist. Exile: More than a physical displacement, exile is a process that is internalized. Having access to a network and resources that recognize the specific needs that women exile journalists face both materially and emotionally is key to a successful career and life in the host country. Resilience in the face of exile Despite the difficult situation the women find themselves in, the journalists have continued to find ways to adapt to their new situation, with many finding their work a source of strength. One journalist, *Patricia (the names of respondents have been changed for security reasons), who fled Guatemala after death threats, continues to practice journalism as a freelancer in the United States, working for an outlet that serves the Guatemalan community there. "It's something that keeps hope alive and reminds me that I am a journalist," she said. *Camila has assembled a team of fellow Nicaraguan journalists to conduct investigative journalism from her host country of Costa Rica. *Julieta, while not currently practicing journalism, has helped maintain ties and build communities, mentoring Salvadoran journalists exiled in the United States. *Diana is compiling a guide based on her overseas experiences to help other Central American journalists who face exile. Policy and development While exile journalists have shown resilience, policymakers and development organizations can support these women who face unique challenges. The report advocates for policy development centered on the needs of women journalists. This includes specialized risk assessment tools and tailored safety protocols that factor in gender-specific threats. Furthermore, the report suggests comprehensive programs to provide tailored support for women journalists that goes beyond immediate relief and focuses on job sustainability and entrepreneurship. Encouraging exile journalists to work together and share their experiences through transnational support networks can help them not only continue to work, but to establish new connections that can create an emotional support system and a sense of community. These recommendations underscore the importance of paying special attention to the needs and challenges of women when implementing projects for journalists in exile, while using their resilience and professional expertise as the basis for further support. This publication was produced within the framework of the project Casa para el Periodismo Libre, a collaborative project of DW Akademie and IPLEX, promoted by the Federal Foreign Office. DW Akademie works with women exile journalists around the world through the Hannah Arendt Initiative from the German Federal Foreign Office. You can read the full report, along with recommendations in the paper, by downloading it below.
DW
06-06-2025
- Politics
- DW
Arminas Muse: 'MIL games create a safe space for students'
At the recent Re:Publica conference, MIL expert Arminas Muse showed why using games to teach media and information literacy can be so effective. Over the years, DW Akademie trainer Arminas Muse has helped develop a multitude media and information literacy (MIL) projects. He is also an EU education expert for Lithuania and has been helping teachers and educators incorporate MIL, oftentimes through games, into the curriculum. DW Akademie caught up with him at the recent re:publica conference in Berlin, where he brought people behind the scenes as he develops a new MIL escape room for Ukrainian youths. DW Akademie: What initially attracted you to games? Arminas Muse: I saw that there had been so many projects created with MIL and so many solutions. Yet the problem is that the content simply isn't engaging or interesting. It's essentially wrapped in the wrong paper. Then, looking at the research, I thought that maybe games would be the best approach to get people to engage more, both for students and teachers. Many times, it is not the students who don't want to learn MIL but rather teachers don't want to teach it. They say, 'That's not my job to teach MIL.' Or they might not feel comfortable teaching the subject. In that way, games can be used in teacher trainings as well. For teachers, sometimes it is hard for them to be wrong or to say they don't know. Games create a safe space so students can be creative, to try new things, to be wrong. The same is true with teachers. Games create a space so they can discuss a topic that they do not have full understanding of. Is their reticence to teach MIL because they assume that students know more than they do about media? There's a bit of a myth that the new generations are digital natives. Yes, that's true, in some ways. They are living in a completely new environment. The technical aspects they do know, but they don't necessarily know how to reflect on their media usage, for example. So, when a teacher approaches MIL in the classroom, students can be a little skeptical and think 'what can they teach me?' Yet being overconfident is dangerous for students. Even scientists fall for conspiracy theories and disinformation. Games provide the space for students who may think they know everything to realize that they do not know everything. When looking at deep fakes, students discover quickly they can make mistakes, which opens them up to learning something new. You break that confidence in a nice way, then push them to learn more. During the re:publica conference in May 2025, attendees had a chance to try out different MIL board games and an escape room Image: Alex Bodine/DW Do you see any drawbacks to developing games for MIL? Maybe more challenges than drawbacks. Developing a game that is both fun and educational is not a walk in the park. It takes a lot of time. It is important to consider and evaluate if a game is the best approach to have the highest return on investment. Also, MIL moves quite quickly. Five years ago, the games would have been about Facebook, but now you'd might not even mention it. Yet designing a game really requires looking behind the platform and finding the longer-standing approaches and the working principles governing the platforms that are more permanent. Yet if you speak about MIL and it is not online, you have to be really creative. Otherwise, it is going to be pretty cringe. Recently, you have been working with MIL trainers in Ukraine and helping to develop a game for Ukrainian youths. Was there anything special you had to keep in mind? it isn't that much different. But the problems that youth already face, they basically are all on steroids in Ukraine – identity issues, attention, self-efficacy. The game mechanics have to keep this in mind and work to solve those things. We also need to be even more aware, as they are not only traumatized, but they are currently living in traumatic conditions. This means we have to embed those mechanisms really strongly and be aware that a very normal thing might be a trigger for them, such as propaganda which they might have a personal relationship to. For this particular project, you are developing an escape room to take to communities throughout Ukraine later this year. Why did you pick this type of game? At the re:publica conference, Arminas Muse engaged participants in ideating MIL games Image: Alex Bodine/DW Young people like to spend their free time going to escape rooms. It is no different in Ukraine. So, when we are trying to reach our target group, we want to reach them physically. We wanted it to be mobile so it is not just in Kyiv or Lviv, but really bring the learning to them and make it immersive at museums, cultural spaces, schools, wherever. We are inviting them to play the game, not develop MIL skills. That's why we say 'come for the fun, stay for the learning.' But in the game, they will learn how to distinguish the most common manipulation and propaganda techniques, understanding biases and why people and organizations would have the motivation to control them in some way. We want them to be able to see the techniques being used and to identify the red flags. The interview has been edited for space and clarity. The MediaFit Re:loaded project, funded by the European Union, teaches MIL skills to Ukrainian teenagers living in Ukraine and those displaced to the rest of Europe since February 2022. The new escape room will premiere later this year and will feature a section on false historical memories – a tribute to MIL trainer Iryna Tsybukh, who was killed in June 2024.
