Students from over 70 schools of the country from this year will have an optional cinematographic education course, approved by the Ministry of Education. More than 140 professors from all over the country have been trained within a project implemented by OWH Studio and People in Need (PIN) Moldova, IPN reports.
OWH Studio director general Virgil Margineanu told a news conference that “A world worth seeing” is a project implemented in Moldova for the first time and envisions the screening of documentary films in schools, which are discussed with students. “What we try to do by this project is to educate the public from the school desks and to arouse curiosity about film through which we can transmit messages, and we hope that in several years these potential film consumers will knock at the door of movie theaters and filmmakers and we will become a country making films,” he stated.
Natalia Grau, senior specialist of the Education Ministry’s Preuniversity Education Division, said the wish is for the students to have critical, analytical media thinking. A number of training courses have been staged starting with 2014. Initially, there were 30 education institutions involved, but now the figure stands at over 70 schools.
A guidebook for teachers and a DVD with ten documentary films, whose number will be increased in time, were worked out for the course. “The selected films come to provide answers to particular challenges faced by the young generation, concerning the problem of discrimination, children’s rights, environmental protection, etc. It is a motivating factor to study and see education in a different way, in the context of the values that this curriculum can have in the development of media literacy,” added Natalia Grau.
Mario Straka, the representative of PIN Moldova, which is a partner in the implementation of the project in schools, said the methodology of the cinematography course is recognized by UNESCO and was successfully implemented in schools in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and France. “We have 73 schools included in the project. We opened 23 cinematographic clubs, two of which on the left side of the Nistru. The leaders of these clubs are trustworthy young people who want to do more for developing the country. The development of civil society is very important and work with the young people is necessary in this country so as to convince them to stay here,” stated Straka.
Teacher of the Falesti-based Lyceum “Mihai Eminescu” Elena Mardari, where the project is implemented, said the teachers make effort to keep up with the changes in society and this informal education method is very interesting . The film presented as aid does not replace the lesson, but completes it and is like a catalyst when particular societal problems are analyzed.
