Nature's Energies are with Us: Young Leaders Environmental Communication and Media Network (e-NetCom)

Funded by: European Union (Erasmus+)
Duration: 2024-2027
PI: Jörg Matthes
Collaboration: Stephanie Bührer

The EuroCivic Lab Project: Strengthening European Identity and Citizenship through SDGs, Social Activism and Living Labs Methodology in School Education

Funded by: European Union (Erasmus+)
Duration: 2024-2026
PI: Katharine Sarikakis

The EuroCivic Lab project aims to enhance teachers' training on European Identity formation practices and enrich their knowledge of innovative educational methodologies. The project helps the school community to support a renewed European identity that can respond to any challenges that the EU faces, with the 17 SDGs as its dimensions, and thus addressing critical issues of humanity. As well enhancing the teaching capacities and skills of teachers through engaging ways and interactive resources.

There will be practical training provided for teachers in EU citizenship education, and the integration of European identity education in schools. Hence, it will encourage school communities to take an active role in reinforcing common European values. It will also introduce innovative educational practices such as EU citizenship education, social activism and the Living Lab methodology, benefiting national education systems.

Overview of Challanges and Opportunities of Media Literacy Policies in Europe (OMEDIALITERACY)

Funded by: European Media and Information Fund
Duration: December 2022 – February 2024
PI: Hajo Boomgaarden • Jakob-Moritz Eberl
Collaboration: Sebastian Sherrah

The joint project OMEDIALITERACY aims to identify existing knowledge about the effects of disinformation in Europe, comparison of current policies on media literacy and disinformation in member countries, and identification of good practices for overcoming disinformation.

One of the major current societal challenges is the online proliferation of disinformation, for example related to politics, health, or armed conflict. The aim of this research is to identify existing knowledge about the effects of disinformation in Europe, comparison of current policies on media literacy and disinformation in member countries, and identification of the good practices for overcoming disinformation. In order to do so, a review will be carried out of the scientific literature, as well as a review of the documentation on policies on disinformation in Europe, also comparing disinformation policies and identifying good practices. All the information found will be published in a report with recommendations for policy and practice.

Der Fake News Kommissar geht um – Ein interaktiver Ansatz zur Stärkung der digitalen Media Literacy an Wiener Schulen

Funded by: Stadt Wien (City of Vienna)
Duration: 2022-2024
PI: Anne Reinhardt • Claudia Wilhelm (Co-PI)
Collaboration: Sophie Mayen

How can young people be "immunized" against fake news on the internet? Learning how to critically evaluate internet sources and content is an important prerequisite. Thus, the research project is developing and testing two media literacy interventions aimed at sustainably increasing the digital literacy of young people. Both interventions will be integrated into the context of school. Using text-based information material as well as a serious game, students will learn to separate fake news from facts on the basis of various characteristics. A key feature is the planned web game: The participants will be trained as "fake news inspectors" by taking over the role as an undercover troublemaker on Telegram in order to learn the five most important strategies for recognizing fake news "from the inside". A follow-up workshop will see the students discuss the limits and opportunities of this game with their teachers. With this approach, the projects aims to contribute to digital literacy of Viennese students and provide new insights into the effects of passive as well as active inoculations strategies in young target groups.

MEDLIT – International Media Studies: Media Literacy as a Media Competence Program for Social Change

Funded by: European Union • Erasmus+ Capacity Building for Higher Education Project
Duration: October 2015 – May 2018
PI: Fritz Hausjell
Collaboration: Thomas A. Bauer (Scientific Coordination) • Michael-Bernhard Zita • Kim Karen Gößling • Fiona Slapota • Regina Außerwöger
Status: Completed

The MedLit Project has officially been established in October 2015 by grant of the European Commission, working for the following two years as a consortium of three European universities (University of Vienna, Open University of the Netherlands, Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen) and six Asian Universities (Chulalongkorn University and Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok, Universiti Putra Malaysia and University Malaysia Kelantan; Kuala Lumpur, Academy of Journalism and Communication AJC Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanity Ho Chi Minh City) in the frame of European Union interest in widening academic structures of knowledge exchange and  transnational knowledge development. The project aims a broad capacity building process for the establishment of structural frame conditions for a transnational media literacy program. It is meant to build structural preconditions for a broad educational program of awareness and societal reasonability for the social and cultural usage of media in the interest of maintaining and developing the individual motifs of meaningful and mindful participation in society-relevant discourses and social life.

The geographical focus is interesting because of many reasons: The phenomena of globalization are mirrored differently, in Asia more in terms of technology, in Europe more in terms of culture. Both dimensions are important levels of development and in that meaning arenas of social change to be societally understood, to be considered and to reflected in frame of social, cultural and media studies. Furthermore the South-East-Asia Region for the Department of Communication at University of Vienna over the last five years has become a strong partner of academic cooperation, which we want to deepen, to widen and to strengthen with effects in a sustainable program of diversification of teaching and research.

Crossmedia and Quality Journalism (TEMPUS IV)

Funded by: European Union (TEMPUS Program)
Duration: 2012 – 2015
PI: Thomas A. Bauer
Collaboration: Stefan Ossmann • Jakob Gurschler
Status: Completed

The 36-month TEMPUS project "Crossmedia and Quality Journalism", led by the University of Vienna, involved a total of twelve universities from Germany, Romania, Austria, Moldova and Ukraine, as well as a further 13 partners from media, politics and the NGO sector. The project goal was to develop and implement a master's program in Moldova and Ukraine. The Department of Communication was responsible for quality control, monitored the Austrian partners (Medienhaus and the daily newspaper "Die Presse") and the grant-holder University of Passau, and was a member of the steering group.