Lifelong Learning in Istanbul
The participants of the project "Lifelong Learning for Digital Inclusion through Media Literacy" (shortly: Learning Media) were able to collect many new impressions, new friendships and new experiences during the last training course of the project.
The fourth and final workshop and the large final conference of the partners European Youth4Media Network (Germany), MediaTerraNea (Greece) and YOUTHART (Turkey) took place from 3th to 10th April 2017, in Istanbul. After the arrival at the Taksim Lounge Hotel, right in the heart of the city, the workshop started on Monday with mutual learning. Murat Akbiyik, chairman of YOUTHART welcomed everyone present in the organization’s new office. A joint dinner rounded off the first day. On the second day the participants were tackling the main topic of the training course “lifelong learning”. After discussions about the concept, all participants agreed on one thing: lifelong learning is part of the human nature and is a process that is accelerated by the new media.
After lunch, the dangers of social networks were discussed. Muhammad Taqi's speech impressively demonstrated that the use of social networks is primarily responsible for the difficulty of dealing with confidential and personal information, and that our generation is open in helping to shape these networks. After dinner, some participants gathered to explore the beauty of Istanbul.
The third day started successfully with the “online workshop”. In the afternoon, useful applications and programs were on the agenda. Among other things, Kahoot, an application to retrieve knowledge or simply to create and evaluate surveys. The evening was organised under the motto "digital night", the shown film "The Intern" caused a cheerful mood.
On Thursday, participants faced a "Mission Impossible", they formed four groups to shoot together as many photos as possible and to get to know the city better. After completing the Mission, the metro took all participants to Sultanahmet, where, among other things, the visit of the Blue Mosque and the landmark of Istanbul were on the agenda. Tired, but full of new impressions, the participants took part in an intercultural evening. There were different country-typical specialties presented, in order to get to know each other’s cultures better.
The results of the week were evaluated on Friday and subsequently new project possibilities for the future were worked out in individual working groups. The evening offered participants the opportunity to dive into the nightlife of Istanbul.
After an extensive lunch, the final conference took place on Sunday at Beykent University. YOUTHART's Secretary General, Ismail Ata, thanked the partner organizations, the local partner organizations and institutions for actively contributing to the successful completion of the project. After the ceremony, the project participants found themselves above the rooftops of Istanbul for the farewell dinner to celebrate the end of a successful event.
The Learning Media project is organised by the YouthArt from Turkey together with the partners European Youth4Media Network from Germany and Media TerraNea from Greece. The project is supported by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey.
Andreas Heinze
