On February 21, the Media Literacy Ambassadors competition took place in Kosovo, the final activity of the “School Outreach Program – Empowering Media Literacy in Kosovo”, where students demonstrated their skills in identifying misinformation, fact-checking and responsible communication.
The competition was attended by 60 students from 13 Albanian high schools and two groups of students from schools of the Serbian community, representing a total of 15 educational institutions from all over Kosovo. This selected group came as a result of a training cycle that included around 600 students from high schools in 7 regions and 21 municipalities, where they received knowledge and practice on media literacy, information verification and responsible communication. The program, funded by the European Union and implemented by Hibrid.info, aims to empower young people as critical thinkers and as ambassadors of media literacy within their communities.
The students of the participating schools represented: “Sami Frashëri” Gymnasium – Prishtina, “Hajdar Dushi” Gymnasium – Gjakova, “Xhelal Hajda – Toni” Gymnasium – Rahovec, “Asllan Berisha” Gymnasium – Rogovë, “Kongresi i Manastirit” Gymnasium – Pozharan, “Xhavit Ahmeti” Gymnasium – Gjilan, “Jeta e Re” Gymnasium – Suhareka, “Frank Bardhi” Gymnasium – Mitrovica, “Gjergj Kastrioti – Skënderbeg” Gymnasium – Drenas, “Haxhi Zeka” Gymnasium – Istog, “Hamdi Berisha” Gymnasium – Malishevë, “Dardania” Gymnasium – Hani i Elezit and “Kuvendi i Arbërit” Gymnasium – Ferizaj.
The competition was held at two levels, aiming not only at competition, but also at developing practical skills and responsible communication of students.
The first level (practical skills assessment) included three main challenges: a knowledge quiz on media literacy concepts, a case study of misinformation, and an ambassador message exercise. In this challenge, each team prepared a short communication to explain key media literacy concepts to their peers, demonstrating their skills in identifying misinformation, fact-checking, and effective collaboration.
The six high schools with the highest scores, namely “Sami Frashëri” High School – Prishtina, “Hajdar Dushi” High School – Gjakova, “Xhelal Hajda – Toni” High School – Rahovec, “Kongresi i Manastirit” High School – Pozharan, “Dardania” High School – Hani i Elezit and “Kuvendi i Arbërit” High School – Ferizaj, continued with the second level (final performance), an interactive session held in front of their peers and invited guests. This level included various examples of challenges, including “Fact or Fake” for news recognition, “Artificial Intelligence or Not” for identifying manipulated images, as well as an ethical challenge on publishing a certain content, providing a lively learning and competitive experience at the same time.
In the end, the winner of the Media Education Ambassadors competition was declared the "Xhelal Hajda - Toni" High School from Rahovec, which demonstrated special skills in using the knowledge gained during the training.
On the other hand, students from schools of the Serbian community participated only in the second level of the competition. Of the two participating groups, the first group emerged victorious, demonstrating a high level of preparation and understanding of the concept of media education.
At the end of the competition, the winners were awarded a voucher worth 50 euros for each student, which can be used to purchase book products in Kosovo, encouraging them to continue reading and develop their skills in media education.
This competition took place after a cycle of training in 18 high schools (15 Albanian high schools and 4 Serbian community groups), where students and teachers gained knowledge on information verification, ethics in publishing, and the safe use of social media.
As part of the program, teachers and hundreds of students from 19 schools participated in practical exercises and discussions on how information is formed, distributed and often manipulated, emphasizing the importance of critical thinking to distinguish accurate information from disinformation.
By connecting high schools from different communities, the program has also contributed to building a shared culture of media literacy and digital integrity.
The activity marked the European Union's efforts to improve media literacy among high school students in Kosovo and to help them navigate social media safely, transforming young people into ambassadors of accurate and responsible information in their communities.