SPACE FOR YOUTH

Explore Participation, Media Literacy and Active Citizenship

DESCRIPTION

This MOOC is part of the European project S.P.A.C.E.S. for Youth – Spread Participation, Active Citizenship and Engagement, created to support young people in becoming more confident, informed and active citizens.

The course is organised as a digital mission through the SPACE system, where participants explore three learning planets: LUMEN, AGORA and NEXUS. Each planet is a mini-MOOC focused on a different dimension of youth participation: media literacy and podcasting, decision-making and democratic participation, and youth-led local action.

Through interactive missions, quizzes, reflection tasks and downloadable badges, participants will strengthen their critical thinking, learn how to understand and use information responsibly, explore how decisions are made, and discover how young people can create change in their communities.

The MOOC is self-paced, free of charge and open to young people, youth workers, educators and anyone interested in active citizenship, media literacy and youth participation.

To complete the full SPACE mission, participants will go through the three mini-MOOCs and collect the badges from each planet. After completing all missions, they will be able to claim their final certificate.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the SPACE for Youth MOOC, you will be able to:

  1. Navigate digital information critically (LUMEN)

Explore how information circulates in today’s media environment and learn how to recognise different types of messages, sources and intentions. You will practise critical thinking skills to question what you see online, identify reliable information, understand the role of algorithms, filter bubbles and echo chambers, and react more responsibly before believing, sharing or producing content.

  1. Use media and podcasting as tools for youth participation (LUMEN)

Learn how young people can use media to speak about issues that matter to them. You will discover how to collect information, prepare interviews, structure a message, create podcast content and communicate ideas in a clear, ethical and engaging way. This mini-MOOC connects media literacy with youth voice, storytelling and public debate.

  1. Understand how decisions are made (AGORA)

Explore how local and European decision-making processes work and why they matter for young people. You will learn about democratic participation, the role of institutions, European youth policies and different opportunities for young people to influence decisions that affect their lives and communities.

  1. Speak up and influence policy (AGORA)

Develop practical tools to engage with institutions and decision-makers. You will learn how to identify stakeholders, contact local politicians, take part in structured dialogue, write petitions, formulate policy recommendations and transform youth concerns into concrete proposals for change.

  1. Design youth-led local action (NEXUS)

Learn how to move from an idea to a realistic community action. You will explore how to identify local needs, analyse the context, involve relevant stakeholders, choose appropriate actions and design initiatives that respond to real challenges in your community.

  1. Mobilise others and create community impact (NEXUS)

Discover how grassroots campaigns work and how young people can mobilise their peers, organisations, local authorities and communities around a shared cause. You will explore communication strategies, community engagement methods and practical steps for planning, implementing and evaluating a youth-led action.

  1. Build transversal skills for active citizenship

Throughout the three mini-MOOCs, you will strengthen teamwork, communication, creativity, critical thinking, digital competence, intercultural learning and confidence to participate. The course is based on learning by doing: you will not only learn about participation, but practise how to participate.

  1. Complete the SPACE mission and unlock your certificate

The MOOC is organised as a gamified learning journey through three planets: LUMEN, AGORA and NEXUS. Each planet includes interactive missions, reflection tasks and badges. Complete the three mini-MOOCs, collect your badges and claim your final SPACE for Youth certificate.

MODULES

Planet LUMEN is the first module of the SPACE FOR YOUTH course. It aims to strengthen young people’s media literacy, critical thinking and communication skills through a gamified learning journey focused on information, media responsibility and podcast creation.

During the module, learners explore how information circulates, how media messages are shaped, how misinformation spreads, and how young people can become responsible content creators. Podcasting is introduced as a practical tool for youth participation, active citizenship and community storytelling.

Main objectives

By the end of Planet LUMEN, learners will be able to:

  1. Understand the role of media and information in youth participation and democratic life.
  2. Distinguish between facts, opinions, rumours, news, personal experiences, promotional content and misleading information.
  3. Recognise how algorithms, echo chambers and filter bubbles influence what people see, believe and share.
  4. Identify signs of unreliable or manipulative information.
  5. Understand the difference between misinformation, disinformation and malinformation.
  6. Apply basic source-checking and verification strategies before trusting or sharing information.
  7. Develop interview skills, including active listening, open questions and respect for consent.
  8. Explore podcast formats and plan an episode with a clear purpose, audience, message and structure.
  9. Understand the basic steps of podcast production, including recording, editing, publishing and dissemination.
  10. Reflect on how podcasting can amplify youth voices and raise awareness about local issues.

Decision-Making, Democratic Participation and Youth Voice

General aim

Planet AGORA aims to strengthen young people’s understanding of democratic participation, decision-making processes and the ways in which they can influence public life at local, national and European level.
The planet focuses on helping learners move from “having an opinion” to understanding how decisions are made, who is involved, where young people can participate, and how youth voices can be transformed into proposals, dialogue and policy recommendations.
AGORA invites participants to explore democratic spaces, institutions, representation, dialogue and advocacy, while developing the confidence to speak up and engage with decision-makers.

Activism, Community Action and Youth-Led Change

General aim
Planet NEXUS aims to empower young people to transform ideas into concrete community action. It focuses on activism, grassroots participation and youth-led initiatives that respond to real needs in local communities.
The planet encourages young people to see themselves not only as participants, but as initiators, organisers and changemakers in their communities.

ORGANIZATIONS

FUNDED BY

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.