PROJECT
NewsWise
PURPOSE
To empower children to navigate the news
FUNDING
Funded for two years by Google as part of a $10m - more than £8m - grant to news literacy initiatives worldwide
BACKGROUND
NewsWise was launched in April 2018 by The Guardian Foundation, National Literacy Trust and the PSHE (Personal, Health, Social and Economic education) Association on the back of concerns that children and young people were struggling to engage with and interpret the news.
The Guardian Foundation had been running free workshops on news literacy for nine- to 18-year-olds at the offices of The Guardian newspaper for 18 years. Recognising that the workshops were easier to access for schools in London and the South East, the organisation wanted to widen its reach. Meanwhile, a 2017 National Literacy Trust survey found half of children said they lacked confidence in their ability to identify fake news and only two per cent were able to identify fake and real news stories correctly when they were presented as part of a quiz. Teachers told the trust they recognised the growing need for news literacy, but did not have the time or the knowledge to develop learning resources. "It's also about wellbeing," says Angie Pitt, director of NewsWise. "Young people are worried about fake news and disinformation, and they are also worried about what they hear on broadcast news, such as the Manchester Arena bombings, but they don't have a safe space to ask questions."
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