EurAV has launched a series of eight audio/visual programmes aimed at older adults that they created as part of a transnational media literacy project with organisations from Italy, North Macedonia and Slovakia.
“There are eight short lessons on media literacy followed by eight radio studio panel discussions,” explained Declan Cassidy, CEO of EurAV. “The project, DiSeRA (Disinformation of Seniors in Rural Areas) is led by a Sicilian counterpart, New Horizons, and – just like the title suggests – is aimed at older people in rural areas who, research shows, are more susceptible to scams and inaccurate information as they try to navigate the digital world in which they find themselves.”
The lessons, developed by EurAV as the media experts in the project, have been translated and localised for each of the four partner countries and are primarily audio focussed.
“Here in Ireland, we’ve created an audio visual version so that we can share it online also,” explained Declan, “but the lessons and discussions that take place afterwards are aimed to be radio-friendly as many of the older target group are more likely to tune in to the radio than watch content online.”
Fiona Ashe, (Film Maker and Media Trainer), Moira Cassidy (Project Manager at EurAV), Bill Tyson (Journalist) and Declan Cassidy (Executive Director, EurAV) during a panel discussions in NearFM Radio
The panel discussions that follow each short lesson were recorded with the cooperation of NearFM, the Dublin-based community radio station, and feature EurAV team members along with Bill Tyson, multi-award-winning journalist and columnist as well as Fiona Ashe, film maker and media specialist.
“There was a lot of expertise around the table,” reflected Declan, himself a former journalist. “While the lessons were aimed at older adults, I feel that the content will be of interest to anyone wanting to know more about media literacy. The panel discussions were very interesting.”
The DiSeRA project website is https://disera.eu and the eight lessons, followed by the radio studio discussions, can be viewed at https://eurav.eu/medialit
