From March 12th to 16th, trainees learned about the power of media, communications, and how their influence can affect today’s global outlook on fundamental human rights.
The concept behind the Media Academy was born from the need to train a new generation of youth volunteers in the field of media and communications, with a broader reach than the standard EYP Media Team experience. The overarching goal for this year’s project was to develop the participants’ competences in navigating various approaches to modern media. The programme, designed under the lead of Head Trainer Kansu Ekin Tanca (TR), also sought to develop participants’ understanding of their effects on sharing and obtaining information.
Through the trainings, the participants gained new skills and knowledge, crafting ideas for their own media projects with a focus on human rights. Currently, the projects are being developed, and participants’ visions will be shared with the EYP network in the weeks to come.
One of the event’s recurring themes was to raise awareness on fundamental human rights through pursuing better media literacy and deep understanding of diverse approaches to modern media. The programme aimed to equip trainees with tools to raise awareness on these matters among their networks. This topic has been introduced under the EYP’s FOCUS project, in collaboration with Democracy International, ALDA Europe, Verfassungsblog, and Are We Europe. The project, funded by the European Commission, works to promote the value of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFREU).
As part of these efforts, the trainees received an expert input delivered by EYP Alum Niamh Webster (UK). Niamh, who is an Editor at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), gave trainees an insight into the work of the FRA, explaining their research work and policy paper development. One key challenge mentioned in the input was for the FRA and other similar bodies to strike a balance between providing relevant information while keeping its content engaging and interesting. This is an area where the FOCUS project aims to activate the skills of the EYP network.
Participants at the EYP Media Academy 2025 came from all across Europe, including two participants who joined as part of the Arctic Futures Project. These participants had the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience from the trainers and trainees of the event as they work to foster dialogue, understanding, and cooperation among young people interested in the Arctic region. The Arctic Futures Project is led by WWF Global Arctic Programme, in cooperation with the European Youth Parliament, the Association of Polar Early Career Scientics, Saami Council, Arctic Mayors’ Forum, Tromsø Kommune and the Arctic Youth Network.
The National Organising Committee of the Media Academy 2025, EYP Slovenia, took on the task of organising the first network-wide training event of the year. The EYP Slovenia team, led by Karin Pust (SI), coordinated the organisation of the event in Novo Mesto with the goal of branching out to regions of the country where they do not often host events. Due to this, participants got the opportunity to explore the nature of southeastern Slovenia alongside their training modules.
Following the event, participants will continue their work on a variety of media projects related to fundamental rights and the promotion of the CFREU, which will be showcased on the social media accounts of the EYP. Participants will also be empowered to bring their newly developed skills in media to events across the network, putting into practice the knowledge gained at the Media Academy 2025.
