Don’t Read, Analyze Deeply

(May 2023 – Marseille, France)

From the 24th to the 30th of May 2023, Apprendre L’anglais hosted a Training Course here in Marseille, funded by the Erasmus+ programme, entitled Don't Read, Analyze Deeply. The Training Course was based on the topic of media literacy, and how we can incorporate it into our lives. The project was put forward to create a comfortable, non-formal learning environment, in which participants could learn and exchange valuable information and skills on the benefits of being media literate in today’s world, and how we can effectively analyze the vast sea of media that we consume each day. Participants learned about this topic through various presentations, group activities and discussions.

4 countries participated in the project, with 25 participants in total. The participating countries were France, Lithuania, Greece and Turkey. Throughout the project, it was amazing to see that people from many different cultures and backgrounds could join together to work on such an important societal topic. Each country was able to learn about the culture of each participating culture through a culture night, where each team organised a presentation, activity and treats for participants to learn about their country's culture and traditions. As you can see from the pictures below, the culture nights were a huge success, and a great way to demonstrate how Erasmus+ projects are a great way to encourage cultural inclusion.

Throughout the project, the participants completed numerous group activities that were designed to demonstrate the participant's view of media and how important is in their daily lives. Participants were also given presentations on the work of Erasmus+ programme, and the YouthPass programme, along with an in-depth presentation regarding the history of media and mass media channels, and media literacy. To ensure the participation of all participants, each country was responsible for organising a variety of group activities relating to media and media literacy. All of these group activities successfully completed, and we were able to see how participants put all of the knowledge and skills that we learned throughout the project into effect. It was incredible to see how all participants engaged and bonded with each other, as you can see from the photos!

Throughout the project, participants also took part in a wide variety of brainstorming activities, where they shared their thoughts, opinions and experiences regarding the role of media in their life, and how it affects their lives on a daily basis. We also organised a secret friend activity, which was very enjoyable for all participants. On the first day of the project, each participant was assigned a secret friend, meaning they anonymously chose a name of a different participant. Throughout the week, the participants were assigned the task of performing small, anonymous and positive gestures to their secret friend throughout the week. On the final day of the project, each secret friend was revealed in a special ceremony. It was wonderful to see how the participants interacted with this activity, as we could see how happy participants were when each participant’s secret friend was revealed to them.

By the end of the Training Course, we were very proud to see how the participants engaged and worked with every aspect of the project. It was amazing to see how everyone worked together to learn new skills about a societal topic as important as this one, and not to mention seeing how people from different backgrounds and cultures can come together to learn valuable lessons that can be shared with society. Overall, we are very happy to say that all participants became aware of the importance of being media literate, and how to practice media literacy skills in everyday life, and we are certain that participants will be able to continue to use and develop the skills that they acquired from this project in their personal and professional lives in the future.