How can children be ideally supported in the digitalized world?

On 20 February 2025, the closing conference of the European HERMMES project will take place.

Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences in Alfter near Bonn is a cooperation partner in the European research project HERMMES. The project focuses on holistic education, media maturity, and resilience in the field of education. On 20 February 2025, the project’s closing conference, titled “Books or Tablets,” will take place in Brussels. In addition to free on-site participation, there will also be an opportunity to watch parts of the event online.

What is the right balance between analog and digital tools in the lives of children and young people? Is the goal of digitalized education an end in itself or a tool for learning? And how can education support children in growing into media-mature adults who can successfully navigate the digitalized world? Since 2022, the HERMMES project team at Alanus University, led by Prof. Dr. Paula Bleckmann and Julia Kernbach, has been exploring these questions. After all, books, smartphones, and tablets are an integral part of the everyday lives of children and young people.

The aim of the HERMMES project is for pupils to be able, by the end of their school career, to use the full range of analog and digital media for their own education, participation in civil society, and the labor market. In short, they should become media mature. In addition, it is important that they are able to decide for themselves how much time they spend with digital tools and for what purpose. Children and young people should also learn to critically assess the content that is shared or consumed via media.

HERMMES stands for “Holistic Education, Resilience and Media Maturity in Educational Settings” and connects parents, teachers, and researchers who are jointly committed to development-oriented and age-appropriate media education. The project is funded, among others, by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency with 400,000 euros as part of the Erasmus+ program. HERMMES is organized by the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE).

On 20 February 2025, the HERMMES project team will present its results at the closing conference “Books or Tablets. Helping Children navigate the Digital World” in Brussels, including exciting panel discussions with European stakeholders in the field of digital education. Participation on site is free of charge. Parts of the event will be made available online. All information about the conference can be found here.

Contact for press inquiries:
+49 (0)2222 9321-1944
presse@alanus.edu

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