Romania took hold of my heart in 2015 and since then has consumed my mind and soul. As with any genuine commitment, my relationship with this beautiful, complex country has grown and deepened over time as I have learned of its many tragedies, as well as its many triumphs. I have surrendered myself to Romania. [...] As I continue my Romanian journey, I marvel over the resiliency and fortitude of the people. I am fortunate to have developed close relationships, familial in many ways, with many Romanians. And I am eternally grateful to have been granted a Fulbright and honored to become part of this amazing community.
CommuniTIES – Media Literacy in Practice
Fulbright TEA alumna Nadina C. Nicolici, EFL teacher at Lorin Salagean Technical High School in Drobeta Turnu Severin, Romania, is a partner within the project “CommuniTIES – Media Literacy in Practice,” a collaborative initiative which involves schools from Greece, Bulgaria and Romania. The project addresses the need to strengthen ties and bonds of mutual understanding, respect and cooperation among high school students and educators from Southeast Europe, in an effort to combat disinformation in a crisis era when education needs to play a crucial role in reassuring democratic values and sustainability in the 21st century digitized world.
The project takes place in two phases:
Phase 1 – September 2021 – June 2022
10 classroom training sessions for 75 students (25 from each country) and a field-trip to local radio/TV stations. The training sessions took place both online (synchronously, every two weeks, together with all the project partners), and in-person, in all three countries, on the topic Media Literacy.
Phase 2 – April – September 2022
Three 2-day events for educators, administrators and librarians in Sofia, Bulgaria (April 2022), Drobeta-Turnu-Severin, Romania (June 2022) and Thessaloniki, Greece (September 2022).
The event in Romania took place on June 9 and 10, in a hybrid format, and it was attended by more than 100 teachers. The event was officially opened by William J. O’Connor – Cultural Attaché, U.S. Embassy Bucharest, Mircea Dumitru – Executive Director, Fulbright Romania, and Leontina Nitoi – principal, Lorin Salagean Technical High School. Among the speakers, there was Iuliana Dode, Fulbright TEA alumna, who held a presentation on “The Social Dilemma. Analyzing Jeff Orlowski’s Documentary in a 21st century EFL classroom.” The organizer of the event, Nadina Nicolici, coordinated the workshop “Checking facts like a Pro,” during which the participants learned about deepfake and the way in which AI can alter almost everything we find online.
The web page of the project, created by the Romanian partner, can be found here: https://bit.ly/3l5Xp7y
The project is funded and supported by the U.S. Embassies in Greece, Romania and Bulgaria.