The European Democracy Shield and the EU Civil Society Strategy
Resilience to disinformation, media and AI literacy, citizen engagement.
Read the document ↗the Social Innovation Lab · Media & AI literacy
Media & Democracy.
Disinformation reaches a pupil as quickly as a grandparent. We teach every generation to check information, recognise manipulation and use AI with discernment.
- Disinformation
- AI literacy
- Intergenerational
- Civic participation
The European model we are bringing to Vrancea
Journalists in the classroom.
Model: Lie Detectors · active in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland and Switzerland
Trained professional journalists volunteer to run 90-minute classroom sessions on how to spot fake news and how journalism works — with the teacher present.
The Lie Detectors model does not operate in Romania. We are adapting it for schools in Vrancea and, for the first time, extending it to older people.
✓What it has shown in Europe
- Over 1,300 classroom visits in a single year (2022)
- 90-minute sessions, with follow-up materials
- A network of over 200 volunteer journalists
The cause · why we are starting this programme
Anyone who cannot check information can be manipulated.
Romanian pupils have some of the weakest results in the EU in digital problem-solving, and Romania is in Europe’s second-lowest group for resilience to disinformation.
57%
of Romanian 15-year-olds are below the minimum level in digital problem-solving
OECD, PISA 2025, 2025 · [1]Group 4 of 5Romania, in the European Media Literacy IndexOpen Society Institute Sofia, Media Literacy Index 2023, 2023 · [2]
48%of Romanian 15-year-olds are below the baseline level in readingOECD, PISA 2025, 2025 · [3]
European alignment
What Europe asks. What we do in Vrancea.
The programme responds directly to the policies the European Union asks of Member States — applied at the level of Vrancea County, for all ages.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 on artificial intelligence
AI literacy (Art. 4), applicable from 2 February 2025.
Read the document ↗Launch readiness
How ready we are before day one.
We are not waiting for funding to start thinking about the programme. Here, openly, is what is ready and what comes next.
69%
Readiness indexCalculated from 8 launch criteria- ✓European model analysed and documentedReady
- ✓Alignment with EU policies checkedReady
- ✓Context data from official sourcesReady
- ✓Expert profiles definedReady
- ✓Activities and objectives plannedReady
- ◐Own resources identified: space and equipmentPartial
- ○Implementation partners confirmedIn progress
- ○Funding securedIn progress
- Sept. 2026Analysis & European model
- Q4 2026Partners & funding applications
- 2027Pilot in Vrancea
- 2028+Expansion, under the new 2028–2034 EU financial framework
What we will do
One flagship model and three activities, one single goal.
Journalists in the classroom
Trained professional journalists volunteer to run 90-minute classroom sessions on how to spot fake news and how journalism works — with the teacher present..
Check before you share
Hands-on fact-checking workshops.
Grandparents and grandchildren, online
Young people teach older people to spot fake news and scams.
AI without illusions
How generative AI works, where it goes wrong and how to use it responsibly.
Project status
Pilot · 2026–2027- ✓ConceptAnalysis & partners
- 2PilotFirst activities
- 3OngoingActive in the community
- 4ExpansionRegional scale-up
✓What we already have
- MediaConnect Adjud — application submitted to the European Commission (January 2026)
- Online safety lessons in rural schools
- AI literacy already built into our youth cohorts
→Programme objectives
- The first volunteer journalists in Vrancea schools (2027)
- The first “Check before you share” workshops (2027)
- Young–senior mentoring pairs for online safety
- Open media literacy resources in Romanian
One ecosystem
How it connects to what we already do.
No programme stands alone: each one uses the equipment, people and data of the others.
Linked programmeCivic and legal educationActive citizenship based on verified information.See →Linked programmeCitizenship & RightsThe right to information, explained through real cases.See →Linked programmeAI in RomaniaHow to recognise AI-generated content.See →Linked programmeIntergenerational NetworkYoung people teach older people to check the news.See →
Our role · how we work
The programme starts with experts, not improvisation.
The same five steps as in all our programmes: data, experts, equipment, community, public results.
- Local diagnosisWe start from data: the schools, the villages and the real needs of young people in Vrancea.
- A programme built with expertsCurriculum and activities designed together with specialists and teachers.
- Training & equipmentWe bring kits, laptops and mentors wherever they are missing.
- Working in the communityFree, hands-on activities at school, in the village or out in the field.
- Measurement & public reportingWe count the results and publish them — verifiable figures, not promises.
Who we work with
The experts beside the children.
The specialist profiles we start and run the activities with. Their names appear in the project reports.
Local journalistsShow how to check information before publishing.Involved from the start
AI specialistsExplain the limits and risks of generative AI.Involved from the start
Romanian language teachersLink critical reading to the media.Involved from the start
Online security expertsTeach older people to avoid scams.Involved from the start
What we hope for · how you can help
Be among those who launch the programme.
The programme is ready. Your support turns it from a plan into action, ahead of any funding.
Support a media literacy workshop
Materials and trainers for one class.
Donate →Journalists and librarians
One meeting a month with pupils.
Become a volunteer →Local newsrooms
Visits and joint projects with young people.
Let’s talk →Young mentors for older people
One hour a week with an older person.
Sign up →Sources and methodology
Where the figures come from.
Our own figures (young people trained, schools, localities) come from the association’s records and are published in the impact report. Context statistics come from official sources, with the year of the latest available edition.
- 15-year-olds below the minimum level in digital problem-solving, Romania (OECD average: 36%)OECD, PISA 2025 · 2025. See source ↗
- European Media Literacy Index: Romania in the second-lowest group for resilience to disinformationOpen Society Institute Sofia, Media Literacy Index 2023 · 2023. View source ↗
- 15-year-olds below the baseline level in reading, RomaniaOECD, PISA 2025 · 2025. See source ↗