On the first day of the seminar, we looked at topics such as media literacy and critical thinking, which include equally important skills for living in today's, sometimes, false information age.

 Media literacy – how do you distinguish between the truth and lies?

Both theoretically and practically, we learned media literacy from Liepāja University doctoral student and media artist Maija Demitere. We found out:

• How to recognize misleading photos and videos? For example, you should consider whether what you see manipulates emotions, whether it promotes stereotypes, whether the photo is just illustrative or directly related to what you describe. If such prerequisites are met, it is necessary to critically assess how true the information is.
• How to recognize fake news > the first step is to read more about the headline when reading an Article, consider whether and what facts are mentioned, whether there is a balance of opinion, what sources of information are used, how people, objects, events are described. Attention should also be paid to the medium, date and author to assess how much information can be trusted.
• Data security in the Internet environment is also essential. We are known to collect data about us for advertising purposes, which is not inherently dangerous, but we should be careful, for example, about what news headlines and links we click. If something looks suspicious, it's better to ignore it. It's even more important not to use the same password for multiple accounts because then we're most vulnerable and hackers can hack our accounts, steal data or scam money. We also got valuable tips for recognizing a fake profile on Facebook - exploring whether any pictures of a person have been posted, whether a person has friends, real comments from other people, etc.

Critical thinking – how to think actively and independently?

In the second part of the day, we learned about critical thinking under Liepāja University lecturer, psychology doctor Irina Strazdiņa. We learned theoretical knowledge of what critical thinking is, what its principles and strategies are, and how everyone can develop their own thinking skills. During the seminar, we learned:

• “Effective thinking is critical thinking”. One needs the ability to be active and think independently. Effective thinking is independent, free from prejudice, dogma, it analyses and assembles a wide variety of cognitive material.
• From an effective point of view, issues are raised, problems are identified and addressed, so that solutions can be found to different problems.

In order to understand the nature of critical thinking, participants were divided into groups in the practical part of the seminar. A large page was distributed to each group and the task was to write their own name and list their way of thinking, such as associative, constructive, artistic, medical, etc.; within the group, none of the descriptive words could be repeated. Then there were 5 qualities to choose from the types of thinking described that everyone would share. Each group presented their work to other groups and anyone could ask questions as to why a particular person thought they had that mindset. As Zanda Krūmiņa, the associations project coordinator, acknowledged: “After the seminar, I realized that thoughts were encouraging to think deeper. If at first it seems you can only come up with one thing, then thinking further leads to more ideas'.

At the end of the seminar, the lecturer said in her observations on the society collective: “by observing your activites in groups from the sidelines, I can say you are a very good team and helpful to each other.”

 Social media and opportunities for achieving the objectives of the organisation

As part of the second day of the seminar, when we invited a lecturer from Liepāja University, Uldis Drišļuks, a master of social sciences in economics, reviewed the topic “the essence of social media for building communication with the target audience of the organisation”, which allowed to acquire knowledge about marketing communication and strategy, social media, principles of creating quality content, attraction of financial resources and reaching the target audience.

We learned this knowledge not only in theory, but also through practical examples. We were presented with examples from other organizations' social media account records so that we can jointly evaluate what works and what doesn't. We also got to know the story of the coffee company Starbucks and the path from zero to one of the biggest players in the industry - how they've carried their name and attracted such a large section of society.

At the end of the seminar, everyone was tasked with creating a marketing communication plan on an important issue for the society. A sauna project for people with disabilities was chosen. Each shared their ideas for presenting the project on social media, how to attract public attention and funding. The lecturer also expressed the idea that in order to attract the attention of a wider audience, it would be valuable to create a large charity event with activities throughout the day for children, families and other potential visitors.

Summary of the seminar benefits

The knowledge gained on the first day of the seminar will be useful to employees and volunteers on a daily basis, assessing the veracity of information, communicating with members of the society and building their own understanding of the world around them. Because critical thinking is an important help in balancing your internal resources, applying it will help you organize your thoughts to help us, rather than disrupt them, in everyday tasks. On the second day of the seminar, the acquired knowledge provided ideas and showed a way for the society to see its need and reach the audiences needed through marketing.

Programmes financed by the State budget of Latvia
NVO Foundation and Liepāja society for the blind Project
"Darbosimies un pilnveidosimies kopā – “Dvēseles veldzes dārzā""
No. 2021.LV/NVOF/MAC/003/24