The Finnish Lifelong Learning Foundation developing adult media literacy training together with Palestinian universities

The Finnish Lifelong Learning Foundation (KVS) and the Palestinian universities of Birzeit and Bethlehem are starting joint adult media literacy training in the Palestine in 2019–2020. The aim is to develop a duplicable model for adult media literacy training in fragile states.

A Finnish-Palestinian course for trainers is currently under way. Six Finns and 16 Palestinians will graduate from it to become media literacy experts for future adult media literacy courses.

The themes include use of social media, identification of reliable information, fact checking, the ethics of journalism and online security.

Solutions to the crisis in lifelong learning

Globally there are very few media literacy courses on offer aimed at adults, even though there is extensive public debate about disinformation, truth, and the polarisation and radicalisation of social discussion.

Media literacy is one of the basic skills of adults. Good media literacy not only helps people to acquire and process information but also to identify unreliable information and inappropriate influence attempts.

The course provides the means for responsible behaviour online, particularly on social media, which does not recognise national borders.

The course is part of the Finnish Lifelong Learning Foundation’s Media Literacy for Sustainable Society in Palestine cooperative development project. It is based on the development objectives of Finland, the EU and Palestine.

The project is being funded by appropriations for development cooperation from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in the period 2019–2020. It is a continuation of the Civic Skills via Media Education project carried out in the period 2015–2016 in Palestine, which, among other things, resulted in the publication of a freely available guidebook Media Guide – Practice and Ethics of Journalism for Adults (2016).

The guide has been published in English and Arabic.

The Finnish Lifelong Learning Foundation is Finland’s oldest politically and religiously non-affiliated educational organisation, established in 1874. Among other things, we maintain Kulkuri School of Distance Education (SDE) for Finnish expatriate children and youth all over the world and we publish a free online magazine on lifelong learning and adult education Elm magazine.

Further information

Dr Lauri Tuomi, CEO, lauri.tuomi(a)kvs.fi, +358 50 4769 977