NEDLib Project - Romania
The aim of the NEDLib project is to strengthen the connection between the educational and the library sector. Another goal is to foster the development of key competences - such as Media and Information Literacy, or the ability to spot disinformation and identify fake news - for different groups (librarians and library users). This will be achieved by designing innovative training modules addressing the specific needs of these groups.
About this initiative
Five EU Member States are taking part in this project: Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Latvia, and Portugal. The Index for Media Literacy places Bulgaria in 30th place, with Greece and Romania following suit (27th and respectively, 28th place). On the other hand, Latvia and Portugal have a much higher potential to resist the negative impact of fake news and disinformation in Europe.
The report recommends education as the most optimal approach to deal with fake news, to act as an inoculation and provide resistance to the worst cases of fake news and post-truth.
Why is this a good practice?
The NEDLib project is an excellent example of a scalable initiative that opens up the possibility for replication in other contexts. In the framework of the transnational project the initial usage of the training modules will be multiplied and a much larger group of potential users will be created as a result. Tackling fake news and disinformation would also increase the level of trust in socities and help to build a healthier environment.
The initiative fosters collaboration and knowledge-sharing across the different segments it targets. Specific learning activities for key librarians allows them to transfer knowledge to other librarians and adult library users (students, professionals, older people, etc). In addition, it is expected that key librarians from the 5 participating countries will also spread the media and information literacy skills they acquired by visiting activities and events organised in the regional training centres. This means the initiative is headed to reach maximum impact from its very start. Find out more here.
