ERASMUS+, Key action 1: training course
Venue: Trnava, Slovakia
Dates: 5—13 November 2024
Czech team: 3 participants
Please read the info-pack.
Hosting organisation: Bratislava Policy Institute
Project report:
From 5.11 to 13.11, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the Erasmus+ project titled “Proactive Truth Vigilante” in Hrnčiarovce nad Parnou, Slovakia. This project was supposed to equip participants with knowledge and skills for identifying and fighting fake news. My experience was awesome, providing insights into media literacy, critical thinking, effective tools for verifying information and gamification.
The whole project was centered around understanding the nature of fake news and developing strategies to recognize and protect ourselves from misleading or false information. Focus was also placed on recognizing the difference between misinformation (misleading information that is not intentional) and disinformation (deceptive information on purpose). Throughout the project, we explored the impact of these issues on society.
The project was filled with workshops and interactive sessions. These included exercises for fact-checking, verifying the credibility of online sources, group discussions where we analyzed real-life examples of misinformation and disinformation, and presentations by experts who would share some of their knowledge with us. The end result of the project was an activity that we were all excited about – gamification. In our groups, we were supposed to make either a board game or an online game, as a team we decided to do a thrilling board game. Throughout activities like this one, we got better at teamwork and communication with eachother.
Participating in this project provided me with several important lessons: critical thinking, media literacy skills, understanding the different tools and platforms available to verify information and awareness of biases, recognizing how personal beliefs and biases can influence someone’s perception of information.
For me, the best part of the whole Erasmus+ experience was the intercultural exchange with participants from different backgrounds. Our second night at our accomodation, we shared all of eachothers traditions, let it be food, music, dances or languages. We shared stories, traditions, and perspectives, helping us to understand our background more. The city of Trnava, more particularly „Hrnčiarovce nad Parnou“ (which is 9 minutes by bus from Trnava) served as a spot for everyone to get closer to Slovakian traditions and culture, exploring the city with our new-made friends was an experience i could never forget.
Attending this project was an extraordinary experience. I gained valuable skills that will benefit me academically and professionally. Despite the challenges, the knowledge and friendships I gained made my stay unforgettable. This report reflects the lessons and experiences that I am grateful to have taken part in and will carry forward into future. Thank you for this memorable opportunity.
Josef H.
