The project Training in Media Literacy, Financial and Online Education for Socially Vulnerable High School Beneficiaries from Charte.ge has completed. It was funded by the Centre for Training and Consultancy (CTC) through the grant competition Innovative Social Ideas in Response to COVID-19- aimed at supporting innovative ideas of non-governmental organizations that will improve and/or expand access to social services and integration opportunities for groups affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
The Project Charte.ge is a charitable platform funded by the Advancing CSO Capacities and Engaging Society for Sustainability Foundation (ACCESS). Anyone can support and donate Internet access and computers to underprivileged high-school students through this platform. From September 2020 to April 2021 Charte.ge conducted twenty one-day training to 334 students on media literacy, financial and online education in different regions of Georgia. Students received information about the benefits of online education and were offered free online platforms to master the professions of interest to them. Given the vast resources to information available on the Internet, the training team taught the students to verify the accuracy and critically analyze the information they access. Paying particular attention to the implications of taking wrong financial decisions at the beginning of independent life, students learned about the importance of financial management.
While the project completed successfully, the team carried out follow-up research among 171 students to understand its effectiveness. The full report can be accessed at: https://charte.ge/ge/reports/training-impact.
The research revealed that student satisfaction and knowledge gained during the training exceeded expectations. Students doubled their scores on specially designed tests after the training. The training team had administered a pre and post-test to measure the participating students’ knowledge in media literacy, financial and online education before and after the training.
Most students said they use the knowledge gained during the training six to eight weeks after the training. More precisely, 80% use online learning resources, 88% check the authenticity of the information using the learned methods, and 72% set their own budget. Their opinions changed after the training- 84% are more confident that they can learn everything online, and 92% are more confident in the importance of English language proficiency.
According to the Charte.ge team, the research helped refine the training modules, incorporating the needs and interest of the students, which will further contribute to the future development of the sessions. In the future, Charte.ge, with the help of private donors, donations and partners, intends to continue providing underprivileged high-school students access to the Internet and computers and introduce the knowledge and experience gained in the project and continue to conduct one-day training.
The project was implemented under the sponsorship of CTC with support from Bread for the World within the Health, Care and Social Rights Program framework. It aims to bring health, care and social rights issues to the forefront of the political and public agenda through evidence-based research and advocacy in helping form sound policies.
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