information on all fronts

For around 4.7 million pupils, this Monday, March 27, 2023 marks the start of Press and Media Week at school. For the 34th edition of this operation organized by the Clemi (the Center for Media and Information Education), which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, the theme of “Information on all fronts” has been chosen. .

A theme – chosen for two years – which will allow primary, middle and high school students to discuss, with their teachers or with the operation’s partner actors, both the battle for attention and the questions of war journalism. “This theme was imposed for several reasons. The first is obviously the conflict in Ukraine, which has a strong impact on the information system, specifies Serge Barbet, deputy director of Clemi. The second is the observation of an overabundance of sources and channels of information to which students are constantly subjected. The objective is to give them the tools to navigate through this jungle of information. »

280,000 teachers mobilized in 22,000 establishments

In all, some 280,000 teachers are mobilized within the 22,000 establishments taking part in the event this year. To conduct their workshops, they will be able to rely on the educational file made available by the Clemi. From decoding a news photo to the economy of disinformation, passing through the impact of concentration in the media, “the axes of the file must enable students to learn to take a critical look at what ‘they consume,’ explains Serge Barbet.

In addition to the 300 digital press offers made available to them, students will also be able to count on the 1,800 partners (media, institutions or associations) who have registered to intervene in their classes or invite them to discover behind the scenes of the production of information within the newsrooms.

Forty years of media education

Since 1983, the Clemi has been working under the supervision of the Ministry of National Education to train teachers and teach students a civic practice of the media. And if the need for media education is as old as the media themselves, Serge Barbet believes that “the increase in the flow of information has made the Clemi’s mission all the more important to enable the younger generations to develop their taste for the news and their critical spirit. »

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