Participants Praise Al-Fanar Media’s First Media Literacy Workshop for University Students
Over four days in January, Al-Fanar Media experts offered training on media literacy to several media and other majors’ students from Misr International University and other Egyptian universities.
The workshop was the first in a series and part of AFM’s commitment to provide training services and its “Media Literacy for Arab University Students” project, in cooperation with Ford Foundation. Al-Fanar Media will conduct similar workshops in four Arab countries in the coming months. The goal of the workshops is to enable university students to understand, evaluate, and handle the information they consume.
Verification Skills
The inaugural workshop, held January 21 to 24, introduced students to tools to verify information and evaluate the credibility of online and social media content. The workshop covered concepts like the features of reliable journalism, information bias in the digital era, fake news, disinformation, deepfakes, and content verification skills.
“I was honoured to present this workshop. Media literacy must be introduced to people, media students and others alike. It is necessary to learn and practise a set of skills related to their daily lives, especially in a time when more misinformation and disinformation is flowing on social media.”
Khaled Ezzelarab, an associate professor of practice in the department of journalism and mass communication at the American University in Cairo
The training was prepared and implemented by Khaled Ezzelarab, an associate professor of practice in the department of journalism and mass communication at the American University in Cairo; Nadia El-Gowely, executive director of Al-Fanar Media; and Mohammad El-Hawary, Al-Fanar Media editor-in-chief.
“We are very pleased to present a workshop on media literacy at Misr International University,” said El-Gowely. “The university officials immediately welcomed hosting the workshop and opened their doors to students from other Egyptian universities.”
El-Gowely praised students’ encouraging interaction in the workshop, regardless of their majors, whether in media, languages, economics, literature, or pharmacy. “They were active participants,” she said. “The discussions were very lively, and brought up enriching issues, debates, and opinions for both the trainers and students.”
El-Gowely added that the project with Ford Foundation was not aimed only at Egyptian students, but includes several Arab countries. However, Al-Fanar Media decided to launch the first workshop in Egypt.
Media Ethics
The training raised many discussions about media ethics, media work standards, and ways to verify online information.
Khaled Ezzelarab, of AUC’s department of journalism and mass communication, was the workshop’s main trainer.
“I was honoured to present this workshop,” Ezzelarab said. “Media literacy must be introduced to people, media students and others alike. It is necessary to learn and practise a set of skills related to their daily lives, especially in a time when more misinformation and disinformation is flowing on social media.”
He added: “Everyone must possess these skills, to scrutinise and evaluate the credibility of the content they are exposed to and consume.”
During the training, Ezzelarab demonstrated tools that can help students verify information, photos, and videos, as well as recognise videos faked using deepfake techniques.
He also admired students’ interaction. “Their diverse social and academic backgrounds were a real addition to the training. They also demonstrated a keen ability to apply what they learned.”
Mohammad El-Hawary, AFM editor-in-chief, said that the most prominent message delivered to participants was that you should not trust everything you see, hear or read. He also showed tools participants could use to verify information and professionally deal with the info dump from various media outlets and social media.
El-Hawary discussed different examples of disinformation and fake news, and the mechanisms that can be followed to verify online news and content.
Faculty Perspectives
Nagwa El-Gazzar, associate dean for research and postgraduate studies at Misr International University’s Faculty of Languages and Mass Communication, praised the training content.
“The media literacy workshop was excellent,” she said. “Its premise was to teach young people how to deal with the news they receive, especially from social media, and provide them with the skills required to work in journalism and the media, such as verifying information.”
“The media literacy workshop was excellent. Its premise was to teach young people how to deal with the news they receive, especially from social media, and provide them with the skills required to work in journalism and the media, such as verifying information.”
Nagwa El-Gazzar, associate dean for research and postgraduate studies at Misr International University’s Faculty of Languages and Mass Communication
El-Gazzar added: “One of the most prominent features of the workshop is the diversity in selecting students from several backgrounds, from media, pharmacy, languages, and business administration, which enriched the discussions and was a major reason for the success of the workshop.”
“One of the workshop’s most prominent features is students’ diverse academic backgrounds, some study media, pharmacy, languages, and business administration,” she said, “This enriched the discussions and was a major reason for the workshop’s success.”
A number of faculty members at Misr International University also attended the workshop.
Heba Rashed, an assistant lecturer, found the workshop very useful for their students, especially those who are not media specialists. “I believe that such workshops are very important as they address skills that everyone needs to develop,” she said, “since they can contribute to supporting our society’s culture and education to enable us to understand how to handle media and news, which contributes to reducing the chances of the spread of fake and misleading news.”
She added: “I found the workshop useful, as a trainer, acquiring tools and advice from the trainers, as well as their way of interacting and delivering content.”
Dareen Hisham, an assistant lecturer, said she joined the workshop because she teaches media education. “It added to my knowledge, skills and tools to pass on to my students,” she said. “I learned to deconstruct news and media patterns, favourable and unfavourable media, and recognise and counter deepfakes. I got information about journalism and artificial intelligence, and delved deeper into journalism, especially since my major is integrated marketing communications.”
‘Ambassadors’ of New Skills
At the certificate-delivery ceremony, Hamdy Hassan, an academic advisor at Misr International University, said: “Media literacy is very important, especially for the current generation that needs knowledge and awareness. The workshop participants have become ambassadors and are responsible for transferring the knowledge and tools they have learned to expand the base of its beneficiaries.”
“Media literacy is very important, especially for the current generation that needs knowledge and awareness. The workshop participants have become ambassadors and are responsible for transferring the knowledge and tools they have learned to expand the base of its beneficiaries.”
Hamdy Hassan, an academic advisor at Misr International University
Hassan suggested that the university should also offer a workshop for high school students on eradicating media illiteracy. The university has adopted teaching media literacy in its curricula, he added.
Maha Fathi, acting dean of the Faculty of Languages and Mass Communication at Misr International University, said she was happy with the workshop’s outcomes and the feedback she received from the participants, expressing their desire to attend similar workshops. She proposed providing advanced training workshops for trainers in media literacy to ensure sustainability.
Students’ Take-Aways
Students said they were happy with what they learned from the workshop.
Aisha Abdel Rahman, a third-year business administration student at Misr International University, said: “In this workshop, we learned how to recognise fake and reliable content, and how reliable a Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or other social media platform’s content is. We learned the steps and methods that enable us to verify information and images, and not easily trust all the information we receive, but to analyse it and know if it is reliable and ethical.”
“In this workshop, we learned how to recognise fake and reliable content, and how reliable a Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or other social media platform’s content is. We learned the steps and methods that enable us to verify information and images, and not easily trust all the information we receive, but to analyse it and know if it is reliable and ethical.”
Aisha Abdel Rahman, a third-year business administration student at Misr International University
Jana Alaa El-Din, a second-year media student at Cairo University, said: “I got a lot from the workshop. I felt sorry that the training had ended. Time passed quickly, and we came up with many benefits on how to verify and differentiate between true and misleading information, and obtained the tools to verify locations and the numbers of people in certain spaces. The training was very important and enjoyable. I recommend it to university students.”
Ziad Mohamed, a fourth-year pharmacy student at Misr International University, said: “Although it is a completely different specialty from my studies, I benefited from the workshop a lot. It will open up various fields for me in the future. I hope to see more such workshops.”
Rana Waleed, a third-year digital media student at Cairo University’s Faculty of Mass Communication, said: “I was surprised by the amount of tools and information that I did not know, such as how to verify a possibly fake image that may be used to harm people or societies. I began to verify the news I am exposed to more, investigating its background and goals and in-depth verifying the content with a journalistic sense.”
“I was surprised by the amount of tools and information that I did not know, such as how to verify a possibly fake image that may be used to harm people or societies. I began to verify the news I am exposed to more, investigating its background and goals and in-depth verifying the content with a journalistic sense.”
Rana Waleed, a third-year digital media student at Cairo University’s Faculty of Mass Communication
Farah Farouk, a second-year journalism student at Menoufia University, said: “The workshop was very useful and a real investment. We dealt with very professional professionals, who made great efforts, shared their experiences, and provided us with skills and information. This made us able to verify the information before publishing or spreading it.”
Nouran Samir, a third-year mass communication student at Cairo University, said: “I learned many things in the workshop, including how to spot fake news. I also got to know and recognise many new terms, such as misleading information. I now have tools and knowledge to verify content before sharing it with those around me.”
Renad Moatasem, a third-year marketing student at Misr International University’s Faculty of Business Administration, said: “In this workshop, we learned how to spot fake reports, deepfake videos, verify content on social media, and find reliable sources of information.”
Ziad Magdy, a fourth-year English student at Cairo University’s Faculty of Arts, said: “What I benefited most from is the discussions, between the participants themselves and between participants and trainers, with their diverse experiences. It was a rich experience I wish to relive.”
Rahma Ehab, a fourth-year student at Misr International University’s department of languages, said: “I learned how to differentiate between reliable and false journalism, verifying photos and videos, and deepfakes. We also got trained practically on conducting interviews, and writing and analysis skills.”
Yasmine Waleed, a third-year TV journalism student at Cairo University’s Faculty of Mass Communication, said: “I learned the different ways to verify news and information, photos and videos, whether in the media or on social media, as well as the extent to which the media adheres to professional and ethical standards.”
Abdel-Rahman Magdy, a fourth-year student at Misr International University’s department oflanguages, said: “I learned a lot about media literacy in general, and tools to detect and monitor fake news without using those tools. The training was fantastic by all standards.”
Rawan Wael, a third-year student at Misr International University’s department of languages, said: “I have benefited a lot in matters related to media and communication in general, and verifying social media content. This will add to my professional field after graduation.”
Radwa Sharif El-Gammal, a third-year student at Misr International University’s department of languages, said: “The workshop was not only useful for media or languages students, but for anyone, so that they can spot fake and reliable news on different platforms, and verify their authenticity. We learned to track the source and ensure its credibility. We also learned to use the tools that enable us to do that.”
Media Literacy Initiative
Al-Fanar Media is an independent, nonprofit online publication focusing on higher education, research and culture in the Arab world. In December, it received a grant from the Ford Foundation to launch a project aimed at eradicating media illiteracy among Arab university students.
The project, which will include major educational institutions and experts, seeks to provide Arab youth with the basic skills necessary to navigate the complex media landscape wisely and professionality.
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