Munich, July 9 – One hundred and twenty students from ten Munich schools have successfully completed their training as Media Scouts and will now begin their work to strengthen media literacy within their school communities. The third cohort of Media Scouts received their graduation certificates yesterday at campus42, presented by City School Councilor Florian Kraus.
Addressing Digital Challenges in Schools
The digital world presents significant challenges for young people, including fake news, cyberbullying, data protection issues, and constant accessibility. There is a clear need for education and guidance in dealing with digital media, especially in schools. To address this, the City of Munich has been training interested students as Media Scouts through a year-long elective course.
Starting the upcoming school year, these 120 Media Scouts will support their respective schools in various media education formats. Their roles will also extend to activities such as coding projects and setting up makerspaces.
Comprehensive Training Modules
The Media Scout training program, developed by the New Media / Media Education department at campus42 of the Pedagogical Institute – Center for Municipal Education Management, includes modules on critical topics such as “Social Media,” “Cybercrime,” and “Extremism on TikTok.” The curriculum also incorporates the LOVE-Storm training to combat hate speech, along with education on the increased risk of hate speech for female-identifying individuals and queer people.
In addition to these critical media topics, the training includes practical modules in areas such as making, coding, and gaming. The newly opened campus42, a central hub for media education innovations, provides the ideal environment for these hands-on activities.
Students complete these modules through four intensive training days and several individual appointments. The instructors include trained media educators and experienced Media Scouts from other schools. Teachers from the participating schools also take part in the Media Scout training, receiving separate instruction to enable them to guide and support the Media Scouts’ activities in their daily school life.
Support and Networking for Media Scouts
The role of a Media Scout can be demanding and emotionally taxing. Therefore, even after completing their training, they have access to support from teachers and responsible media educators. The exchange of experiences with other Media Scouts is also crucial, and for this purpose, the city organizes regular network meetings.
According to those responsible at campus42, the response to the training has been overwhelmingly positive. The schools that will participate in the Media Scout School program next year have already been selected, and their teachers attended the graduation ceremony as an introduction. Interested schools can apply for the 2027/28 school year starting in spring 2027. Further information is available at https://medienbildung-muenchen.de/medienscouts.
Statements from City Officials
Mayor Verena Dietl emphasized the importance of the program: “Digital media are naturally a part of young people’s everyday lives. It is therefore even more important that they learn to deal with each other responsibly and to counter hate, exclusion, or misinformation. I am impressed by the sense of responsibility with which the Media Scouts advocate for their classmates. They listen, provide orientation, and help to use digital media safely and respectfully. In doing so, they make an important contribution to a good coexistence in our schools and show how young people actively shape our city.”
City School Councilor Florian Kraus added: “Especially in the field of digital media, it is important to act at eye level. Students are better suited for this than any teacher. I am therefore a great supporter of the Media Scout idea and not surprised that the demand for the Munich model is high. Many thanks to everyone involved for their great commitment to a harmonious, positive school culture.”
Participating Schools
The Munich schools that participated in this year’s program include the municipal Willy-Brandt-Gesamtschule, the municipal Adolf-Weber-Gymnasium, the municipal Theodolinden-Gymnasium, the municipal Carl-von-Linde-Realschule, the municipal Fachschule für Grundschulkindbetreuung, the municipal Sophie-Scholl-Gymnasium, the municipal Artur-Kutscher-Realschule, the municipal Ludwig-Thoma-Realschule, the municipal Thomas-Mann-Gymnasium, and the state Michaeli-Gymnasium.
Source: Landeshauptstadt München, Presse- und Informationsamt
