Second European congress on media literacy

Narine Khachatrian is co-author of several projects on media education in Armenia. At the Media Education Center she developed and coordinated “Media Literacy in English Language Classroom”, “e-Mathematics” school projects. Currently, she develops curricular materials for teaching media literacy at secondary school and education baccalaureate.
N.Khachtrian has worked for local and international mass media. Between 2003-2006 she coordinated a partnership project “Enhancement of Journalism Education in Armenia” with Florida A&M University, and Journalism Department was established at the Pedagogical University in Armenia.
She acted as media coordinator for the first high tech portal in Armenia. (www.SiliconArmenia.com). By late 2003 she wrote articles about the country, focusing on the effects of technological advancement on common citizens, the stories were published in US-based Armenian International Magazine, AGBU and in French ‘Novell d’Armenie’. The series of articles, devoted to Information Technology and Armenia’s ICT Industry were included in the USAID report ‘ICT Assessment-2000’ in 2000 and received a National Award of USAID in 2002.

Armenia’s state budget does not allow introducing media education as separate subject in all secondary schools simultaneously. Only 500 out of 1500 secondary schools are computerized and connected to the Internet. Non-professional media, inadequate to country’s current development and the low level of media literacy of the society have already had sad results. On the other hand, a rapid economic growth of recent years, de-monopolisation of telecommunications and new investments in the media infrastructures, particularly in TV stations, are changing the situation in the country. Several western style TV channels are already operating in Armenia. By the end of this year, additional 600 schools will be connected to the Internet, 20 of them through ADSL. The major part Internet resources consumed by Armenian users are of external origin. Schools do not have their own educational network. Our children are already able to break even content filters. Our school children are advanced in software design, but they are lacking skills in creating adequate media content. Media Education Center of Armenia based its projects on the assumption that education is the main strategy to empower audience members to draw their own conclusions about what they see and hear in the media.

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