Need for youth: exchange about the media, inclusion and school refusal

Need for youth: exchange about the media, inclusion and school refusal

On June 16, 2025, an important event will take place in the community center on Schlaatz in Potsdam, which deals with the needs of children, adolescents and families in the districts. The department of children, youth and family of the state capital Potsdam invites local players and partners of youth welfare from Schlaatz, Waldstadt I and II and Potsdam Süd. From 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., exchange on central topics such as media education, school refusal and inclusion is on the program. It is planned to build up a community of responsibility in the social area so that everyone involved can use their strength.

The participants, including youth welfare, schools, daycare centers and associations, will ask themselves: "What do we need - and what can we do together?" In this dialog culture, sustainable solutions are to be developed that meet local needs. This event also marks the kick-off for further meetings in other Potsdam social spaces, which promotes a broader exchange and the cooperation, as Potsdam.de.

focus on media education

A central topic of the meeting is media education, which is becoming increasingly important for early childhood education. As part of the “Media Education in Dialog” project, which is carried out by the Digital Opportunities Foundation and the Ravensburger Verlag Foundation, the focus is on practical recommendations for action. This project includes three modules: literature research on media education, the development of a catalog of criteria and a field phase in which selected daycare centers are supported. The aim is to optimize media educational support in the dialogue between daycare centers and families. So you want to not only improve practical work in daycare centers, but also strengthen the training of educators, which is crucial for the education of our children.

In daycare centers, children from around three years of age should learn to use media potential and to deal with negative experiences. However, studies show that many educators do not perceive media education as part of their professional task and often have concerns about the negative effects of digital media on the children. This could be due to the fact that there are many weaknesses in the educational plans regarding media education, such as bpb.de shown.

The importance of media literacy

Early media education is more than just a keyword - it is an educational task that must be implemented in daycare centers. Children grow up in an environment dominated by media and perceive their parents' media behavior. At the same time, empirical studies show that many daycare centers do insufficiently implement their task to promote media literacy. Specific methods for media education, which are very often referred to, would hardly be implemented in practice. It is crucial that children learn not only to consume the media passively, but also to deal with them actively and critically.

The upcoming event in Potsdam offers the opportunity to discuss these topics together and to plan concrete steps to improve media education in the region. Together it is important to identify barriers and develop strategies that support both children from problematic families and their parents. "There is something", and the organizers and participants have certainly also committed themselves to the flags.