Sofia and the country, July 17, 2018
The largest edition of the “Journalists in School” initiative 2018 is over. 2470 students from 38 schools and 34 cities all over the country participated in it. In total, 21 prominent journalists, connected to the “Valya Krushkina-journalism for the people” awards entered the classrooms to show the young people how to recognize fake news, why it’s important to be active citizens and what it’s like to be a journalist. BFPA has supported the campaign ever since its first edition.
The meetings began with the educational video “Fake news and how to identify them”. Thanks to it and the following conversation, the students acquired skills to identify fake news and also the knowledge how to check whether news is fake.
During the meetings the journalists demonstrated to the young people why it’s important to participate in their community’s activities and convinced them that the change in the environment is up to them. That way the conversations about the media situation in Bulgaria stimulated the students to be active citizens.
The meetings contributed to the students’ career orientation. Especially interesting for them were the inside stories about the profession. A big part of the questions were connected with the work of the journalists: from “How to make reportage”, through “Who speaks in a journalist’s ear-piece” to “Do journalists receive threats”. This way the young people had the opportunity to learn first-hand why “journalism for the people” is important, how the media functions and whether it is a carrer development for them.
70 teachers joined the initiative, as local meetings coordinators and as participants in the meetings themselves. The teachers appreciate highly the interactive format of the initiative and confirm its necessity. Indirectly the initiative reached over 50 000 parents, teachers and members of local communities. Thanks to the fifth edition of the “Journalists in School” initiative, the Valya Krushkina Fund initiated a conversation about media literacy and the necessity for it to be developed in young people as well as in older citizens.
“Journalists in School” is an initiative of the Valya Krushkina Fund, part of the Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation. In the last five years the initiative gains an ever bigger popularity all around the country. The fifth jubilee edition of the initiative was implemented in partnership with BNT, Nova TV, Bulgaria on air TV, BNR and the sites OFFNews.bg and mediapool.bg with the support of TELUS International Europe.
