ZAGREB, 9 May 2022 - Minister of Culture and Media Nina Obuljen Koržinek on Monday said it is exceptionally important to find relevant information and in that way protect oneself against misinformation, adding that the development of independent fact-checkersis the basis to resist misinformation.

The minister presented the results of a project held under the motto "Think with your head in the media labyrinth" as part of the 5th Media Literacy Days, held from 2 to 8 May and comprising more than 500 events in 155 cities around Croatia.

She underscored that technological development has brought positive changes to life but they have also created a labyrinth in some areas of life and "due to the quantity of available information, we sometimes feel like we are living in a parallel world."

Hence, it is exceptionally important to know how to find relevant information and be protected against misinformation, she said, adding that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan has ensured the funds to set up fact-checkers and a published data system.

Developing independent fact-checkers for information in the public sphere, in the media and on social networks and building a system are the foundation of strengthening a society's resilience to misinformation, underscored Obuljen Koržinek.

Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs underlined that media literacy is now being developed through a series of school subjects in elementary and secondary schools.

He stressed that media literacy includes a lot of know-how, skills and competencies and that the greatest value of media literacy is the ability to analyse, evaluate and put information into context.

Vice president of the Electronic Media Council Robert Tomljenović said the results of recent research indicate that it is necessary to create conditions for children and young people as well as all citizens to learn how the media function and create content and news so they can develop critical thinking.

The head of the UNICEF office for Croatia, Regina M. Castillo, said that research has shown that young people recognise the challenges of using the media, particularly digital media.

"Every third student has felt stress, loneliness, envy or lack of seld-confidence due to content on social networks. These are challenges that parents, teachers and other experts are faced with every day," she warned.

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