Monday, 30 August 2021

Digital Activism Solidarity School: Teaching Young People Digital Literacy

August 30, 2021 - If you want to learn more about navigating fake news and contributing to the battle against misinformation, you might want to apply for the Digital Activism Solidarity School in Kaštel Kambelovac. Here's how you can apply by September 10, 2021.

Summer education programmes aren't unusual in Croatia, as TCN reported earlier in May, the five-day Summer Business School organised by Step-Ri Science-Technology Park and the American Embassy in Croatia in June attracted business enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to Rijeka to learn more about the field.

In the final rays of summer 2021, from September 24-26, another education programme will bring its students to learn in the cozy Mediterranean environment of Kaštel Kambelovac. The Digital Summer School, organised by the SOLIDARNA Foundation, aims to promote digital and media literacy to combat the spread of fake news and misinformation.  

As the SOLIDARNA Foundation website states, the three-day workshop will teach the participants to recognise and fact-check fake news. It will also teach people to actively participate in content produced on social media, creating and launching a content alternative to fake news. Finally, the participants will also learn how to use satire in the promotion of human rights and how to communicate their values effectively.

''This workshop is intended for students, socially active individuals and to everyone else under 30 years of age who are interested in manufacturing digital content promoting human rights and fighting against fake news,'' says the public call on the website.

Experts from both Croatia and the wider region will share their knowledge on the subject. The experts include Tijana Cvjetićanin, a journalist at the Bosnian fact-checking site Raskrinkavanje.ba, Emina Bošnjak, executive director of the Sarajevo Open Centre (SOC), Borna Sor, a Croatian satirist (no stranger to TCN) and digital communication expert, Luka Kerečin.

Participation in the workshop is free, with both secured transport, accommodation, and food, but with a limited amount of places. Participants need to bring a laptop with them. Those who want to apply need to send a brief motivation letter about their interests and their past aexperience in activism toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by September 10, midnight at the latest. The title of the mail must be “DIGITAL YOUTH ACTIVISM” and for all additional questions, you can send an inquiry to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Founded back at the end of 2015 and guided by the teachings of Eleanor Roosevelt, the SOLIDARNA Foundation says it wants to return human rights home ''to the hearts, minds, and lives of ordinary people.''

''The SOLIDARNA Foundation for Human Rights and Solidarity creates new opportunities for all citizens to act in solidarity, in our common effort to protect human rights and meet fundamental human needs, reduce inequalities and expand freedoms in all spheres of society,'' explains SOLIDARNA on its website.

With digital nomads and the digital industry being a more and more recognisable source of income and business in the country, digital literacy and being able to differentiate between facts and lies on the internet is ever more important.

Learn more about digital nomads with our TC guide.

For more about education in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Tuesday, 29 June 2021

First Centre For Digital Literacy of the Blind and Visually impaired opens

ZAGREB, 29 June, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović's envoy and human rights advisor Melita Mulić on Tuesday opened the Centre for the Digital Literacy of Blind and Visually Impaired Persons on the premises of the Zagreb Association of Blind Persons.

The centre, the first of its kind in Croatia, is part of the "Network for all" project.

Mulić said that digital literacy would ensure new opportunities for blind and visually impaired persons that previous generations did not have.

"We put great emphasis on diversity as well as on creating new opportunities for blind and visually impaired persons. President Zoran Milanović gladly supports these socially responsible projects and is grateful for the support and love of all those involved," said Mulić.

The president of the Zagreb Association of Blind Persons, Branimir Šutalo, said that the centre needs to be an example of good practice for other associations of the blind and visually impaired.

He said that in addition to Braille, modern times have set digital literacy as a fundamental precondition for the independence of the blind and visually impaired and their full inclusion in the life of the broader community.

"Our association is faced with serious financial challenges because essential IT equipment costs up to HRK 25,000 per user. That is why we particularly want to thank our sponsors, the HEP Group and DM Croatia, which equipped this new IT centre," said Šutalo.

The director of the Apriori World agency, Danijel Koletić, underscored the importance and necessity of adapting web sites for blind and visually impaired persons according to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Unfortunately, despite a European directive, the number of WCAG programmed sites are negligible, particularly those by public administration and public companies, he said.

"The relevant law, which should have been completely adapted to the European Directive, has omitted the obligation for elementary and secondary schools to have access to those web sites," he said, noting that this posed a huge challenge in terms of young people's understanding the importance of the inclusion of people with disabilities.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

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