International Consultant - Providing Tailored Support to Media and Promoting Media and Information Literacy
Alert
Vacancy
Background
The current climate in Kosovo calls for a comprehensive, long-term strategy for introducing media literacy programs into schools and the education curriculum. According to a study conducted by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in 2018/2019 , the majority (56%) of youth in Kosovo access the internet all the time via Wi-Fi, smart phone, public, PC and/or other means. In addition, the study finds that TV and internet compete as the main information tool for information on political issues among youth.. In 2014, 98% of adolescents attending higher education in Kosovo claimed to use social media on a daily basis. Having this information in mind, it is clear that adolescents are exposed to the risk of being manipulated by harmful information. Without the tools and knowledge to handle such situations and the capacity to understand - they are being directly influenced. This can have concerning wide-ranging long-term effects; thus it is critical that a project addresses this issue and create conditions for inclusion of media literacy subject in the educational system in Kosovo. Cognizant of the transitional state of media and its influence on political and civic life, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo (the Mission) has engaged in several initiatives aimed at equipping diverse audiences with the critical thinking skills required when assessing the vast amount of information disseminated from media. The Mission’s Media and Information Literacy (MIL) initiative has included the introduction of MIL into formal education curricula, however MIL is not yet being implemented in the schools of Kosovo with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in charge to ensure implementation of the curricula; lectures on critical thinking through interactive workshops for students and parents at selected lower secondary schools in Prishtinë/Priština, Mitrovicë/Mitrovica and Prizren; collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology in facilitating training programs for teachers on using the internet safely and protecting children from illicit content; and teaming up with the Press Council and Radio Television of Kosovo to produce and broadcast a series of eight TV programs on media and information literacy titled “EduMedia.”
Objective
The Mission requires the services of one experienced consultant for a five- day workshop to develop a University-level curriculum containing eight courses on Media and Information Literacy. The consultancy will last five days, (two preparatory days, two workshop days and one reporting day).
Tasks and Responsibilities
The scope of the work performed by the consultants will include the following:
Developing a University-level curriculum containing eight courses on Media and Information Literacy (MIL); The courses will be developed utilizing existing, open source textbooks on MIL; Co-ordinating with respective Mission members and three local consultants to develop locally contextual courses on MIL; Prepare set of recommendations for the activity/project manager related to the follow up activities on teaching media literacy.
Deliverables:
Within fourteen (14) days after receiving information from the activity manager on the planned workshop to develop a University-level curriculum containing eight courses on Media and Information Literacy (MIL), the international consultants will:
Submit a draft agenda for the workshop for consideration to the Mission’s activity manager; After approval of the draft agenda by the Mission’s activity manager the hired consultant will submit a detailed agenda for the workshop; The detailed agenda delivered by the consultant will be consulted with the three local consultants; Final agenda will be submitted to the activity manager a week before commencement of the assignment; A draft syllabus containing eight courses on Media and Information Literacy (MIL) will be delivered to the Mission’s activity manager two weeks after the completion of the workshop; One week after receiving final comments from the Mission’s activity manager the consultant will provide the final curriculum containing eight courses on Media and Information Literacy (MIL);
Performance Indicators:
Final documents incorporating comments received from the activity manager delivered on time in an appropriate format and quality as requested by the activity manager; The consultancy implemented as planned;
Qualifications:
University degree in social studies, languages, journalism, general law or media law or other related field; At least five (5) years of relevant working experience in education, journalism, training and communications; Professional understanding and knowledge of development of media literacy education curricula and syllabuses; Professional understanding of media literacy; Professional knowledge of educational issues related to the teaching of media literacy in the Western Balkans region Professional knowledge on educational issues in the South-Eastern Europe, Professional knowledge of English language. Most common lingua franca spoken in the region desirable; Computer literacy;
Remuneration Package: Remuneration will depend on the qualifications and experience of individual experts as well as the detailed work plan to be agreed upon and will be based on the current OSCE consultancy rates.
In order to apply for this position you must complete the OSCE's online application form, found under https://jobs.osce.org/.Applicants are encouraged to use the online recruitment and only fully completed OSCE applications will be accepted. However, if you have technical difficulties with the system you may use the offline application form found under https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/offline-application-form and forward the completed form quoting the vacancy number by e-mail to: consultancy.omik@osce.org. In line with your qualifications please indicate preference to one or more field of expertise listed above (while using the online application the field of expertise preference can be indicated in the cover letter part). Kindly note that applications received after the deadline, submitted in different formats than the OSCE Application Form or in other languages than the English language would not be considered. The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply.