The heart of the Media Education Centre is the Media Laboratory, a place and space for children, youths, and all other people interested in learning about Media, Film, Animation, TV, radio, ICT, and Multimedia. Media Laboratory was opened in March 2006 with the supervision and support of the Danish Film Institute, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, the European Cultural Foundation from The Netherlands, and the Italian Association Abaton.
Media Laboratory was our first department with a wide variety of activities in the Mediterranean, Europe, Balkans, and Danube Region and several activities in Asia (five in South Korea, three in Kyrgyzstan, five in Iran, five in South Africa, six in the USA, many time in United Nations…) including the UNESCO and our activities in the UNESCO – EC Pilot project “Media and Information Literacy – Building Trust in including our double membership in the Youth Cinema Network (as a Media Education Organization and as a Youth Film Festival) what is a worldwide network of youth film festivals, organizations and film & media educators working with the production of films made by young people and their right to express themselves through the moving image. membership and close cooperation with the European Association for Viewers Interests – is an international non-profit organization registered in Brussels that advocates media literacy and full citizenship and supports the adoption of initiatives that enable citizens to read, write, and participate in public life through the media.
Cooperation with DVV International in the Curriculum GlobALE – Lifelong Learning, our production was a MOOC with 720 minutes of education by educators from five continents. We are also in partnership with Prix Jeunesse International – the 60-year-old biggest festival – biennale, promoting films for children and youth. Also, we are a member of the European Children’s Film Association, the organisation for all who are interested in high-quality films for children and young people: filmmakers, producers, promoters, distributors, exhibitors, TV programmers, festival organizers, film educators… with 150 members comprised of companies and organizations from 41 different countries.
Special activities we have with young people with disabilities, and the women population especially in the rural regions of Serbia with a special focus on the refugee population and Roma people female population – vulnerable groups interested in higher education.
Our belief is that permanent action is necessary, even though it’s about climate change, at the heart of it, it requires people coming together, to bring solutions… including ancient cultures and civilizations coming into the discussion, to listen and learn about previous experience!
Founding members of MEC—both before and after the establishment of MEC– have worked tirelessly to help children and youth from Serbia during the difficult period of isolation and poverty to maintain as much as possible contact with their fellows from all over the world.
