Teaching Media Literacy: Alanus University Launches the Erasmus+ Project HERMMES

Books, smartphones or televisions: Analog and digital media are part of our everyday lives from an early age. To support children in growing up safely in the digital age, the Erasmus+ project HERMMES therefore trains parents and educators in media literacy. Alanus University is participating as a partner.

How do children and young people learn to use media confidently? What do children need for healthy development? And how can parents and educational professionals contribute to this? The Department of Educational Sciences at Alanus University is conducting research on this topic and recently published the MünDig study, which examines media use in the context of reform pedagogy. In addition, the department has developed a certificate course “Media Literacy 360°” to train educational professionals in this field. Alanus University is bringing this expertise to the Erasmus+ project HERMMES.

HERMMES stands for Holistic Education, Resilience and Media Maturity in Educational Settings. The aim of the HERMMES project is for students, by the end of their school career, to be able 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 are to achieve “media maturity.” In addition, it is important that they can 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 through media.

The project is organized by the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE) and will run until 2025. A total of eleven organizations and four associated partners are involved in the project. Alanus University is represented by Prof. Dr. Paula Bleckmann and Julia Kernbach in the project areas of “Teachers training” and “Curriculum.” The focus here is on developing holistic continuing education and a curriculum for media maturity for ages 0–20. HERMMES is funded, among others, by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency with 400,000 euros as part of the Erasmus+ program.

Photo, from left: Kick-off meeting for the launch of the Erasmus+ project HERMMES at the Free University of Stuttgart from September 9 to 11, 2022.
Front row: Elke Dillmann, Márti Domokos, Robert Neumann, Hilary Siddons, Ulrike Sievers
Middle row: Dora Šimunović, Aivar Haller, Andrej Szolgay, Cecília Skarka, Franz Glaw
Back row: Marianne Rongen, Clara Aerts, Arnout de Meyere, Arja Krauchenberg, Julia Kernbach