From 28 until 30 March the first Study Visit in the framework of the ECHO Network project took place in Berlin, organized by SOLIDAR Foundation’s member Willi Eichler Akademie (WEA). The ECHO Network project (re)presents a vision for democratising the online space and for empowering each individual when choosing how to access the online realm. Project partners collaborate in exchanging their experiences regarding using ethical digital software, taking stock of the existing resources, alternatives to the technology provided by the tech giants promoting a consumerist business model that feeds off of learners’ data. The project provides training resources to build up a movement for educating learners to explore ethical digital solutions in their learning process.

In this frame, the Study Visit took place at the Brillat-Savarin school, Germany’s biggest vocational school with a focus on the hotel and hospitality industry. Students at this school joined the participants in the Study Visit to learn more about the merits and issues of social media use and about various experiences using social media for political education, through a workshop facilitated by WEA. This group of students had indeed already participated in a pilot workshop on the use of TikTok for political education of which they presented the results through short TikTok videos on the effects of global warming and the influence the EU has on the profession of a chef.  

During the Study Visit, participants also had the chance to learn more about open-source platforms which can be used for political education. This was illustrated by WEA’s online program Reflect EU & US which focuses on Global Education, as it provides a safe space for students to discuss topics such as racism, nationalism and the post-World War II world order. To wrap up the Study Visit, a conference was held on the sustainable and ethical use of the Internet as a basis for virtual political education with interventions of Peer Heinlein, expert in security and open source software and MP Maik Aussendorf, Green Party, spokesperson for digitalization. 

Read more on the first ECHO Network Study Visit here.