Nordic Youth Media Lab: Critical Thinking & Digital Democracy

Sillamäe Child Welfare Association (SSCW) is the Estonian partner of the Nordic Youth Media Lab.

The Nordic Youth Media Lab is a joint youth project of the Nordic countries and Estonia, coordinated by the Finnish organisation Femina Ry. The project brings together young people aged 16-30 from Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Estonia to strengthen their ability to navigate today’s fast-changing information environment. Its core idea is simple: young people are not just media consumers, they are also media creators.

What did young people in Estonia do?

Young people from Estonia took part in the project as media creators. They produced podcasts, interviews, articles and social media posts on topics that truly matter to young people and concern them, such as:

• artificial intelligence and algorithms: how they shape what we see and think;
• misinformation and deepfakes: how to spot them before sharing;
• mental wellbeing in the digital environment;
• freedom of speech and responsible communication;
• youth participation in society and digital democracy.

The content created by young people reached audiences in Estonia and across the Nordic region and is available in the project’s shared media library, the Nordic Media Hub.

Project activities

January 2026: project launch. A Youth Steering Group was formed with representatives from all four countries, including Estonia. The group shaped the project’s direction, curriculum and communication strategy.

March-June 2026: international online workshops. Four workshops for young content creators:

• 27 March: information resilience;
• 30 April: AI-driven information and cognitive resilience;
• 28 May: authentic storytelling and responsible communication;
• 20 June: civic engagement and democratic participation.

April-August 2026: Youth Digital Labs. Young people created videos, articles, podcasts and fact-checking materials on AI, algorithms, media ethics and digital democracy.

20-29 August 2026: Nordic Media Festival in Helsinki. The project’s flagship event featured youth-led panels, expert discussions and media workshops. The Nordic Youth Media Manifesto was launched at the festival.

From September 2026: cooperation continues. The Nordic Media Hub was launched as a shared collection of youth media work, with open-access resources, peer mentoring and annual digital meet-ups.

The project in numbers

• 4 countries
• 82 young content creators
• 120+ young people trained
• 40+ workshops and digital labs
• 100,000+ people reached online

Who was the project for?

The project was open to all young people aged 16-30, and no previous media experience was required. We especially welcomed young people from linguistic and cultural minority communities, young people with fewer opportunities and from rural areas, young people with special needs, and those interested in journalism, digital storytelling and civic engagement.

Youth-created content: https://www.feminary.fi/nordic-media-hub/
Video Materials: https://youtube.com/@nordicmediahub?si=zSglFXl0MNg3T8L8 
Project page: https://www.feminary.fi/projects/media/

The project is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Welcome to join “Positive News Channel” project, January – March 2021

The main aim of the project is to increase media skills and knowledge of young people/elders on critical thinking and media literacy, also breaking the stereotypes on groups with the risk of exclusion by developing media products (co-creating media content – interview, blog, YouTube channel, articles, public opinions, personal stories & social media tool-kit).

The target group of the project is young people and elders (age 18-60+) from Ida-Virumaa, Harjumaa and additionally students from Tallin University, Baltic Film and Media School (unprofessional media co-creators). Project will be dedicated mainly to Russian speaking audiences, but also includes other representatives.

Project activities:

• 10 interviews – recorded and published on social media and – 11 blog posts – created and published.
• One public discussion on intergenerational dialogue organised by young people and elders
• One online “Story book & social media educational tool-kit” to demonstrate handled interviews and perceptions on social media topics from different age groups and to understand, plan and implement a social media using strategy. Online story book & social media tool-kit will help young and older generations to share experience, give advice on how to interact with the media, increase their skills and knowledge.

Project outcomes:
– 3 activities will be implemented (interviews, one public discussion, online story book & social media tool-kit) through the cooperation with media outlets.
– 120 participants will  take part directly in the project  and approximately 10 000 unique viewers/readers will be indirectly participating in the project.

The activities of the program take place within the framework of the Baltic Independent Media Program, which is supported by the United Kingdom Government and the British Council.

The activities of the program take place within the framework of the Baltic Independent Media Program, which is supported by the United Kingdom Government, the British Council and the Civil Society Foundation.