Hello, we are: Society for Media Education and Communication Culture eV
The Society for Media Education and Communication Culture (GMK) was founded in 1984 as a nationwide association of experts from the fields of education, culture and media. As a non-profit association and the largest media education umbrella and professional association for institutions and individuals in German-speaking countries, the GMK is a platform for discussions, cooperation and new initiatives. It is committed to promoting media education and media competence, brings together those interested in media education and those committed to it from science and practice, and ensures information, exchange and transfer. The GMK office coordinates the activities from Bielefeld and is supported by our nationwide board and the spokespersons of our 17 specialist and 15 regional groups.
WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?
Media education and the promotion of media competence in the sense of creative and critical, reflective media use has become essential not only since the so-called digitalization push during the Corona pandemic. Media education is not primarily about the use of certain tools and techniques, but about supporting people of all ages in being able to participate and take part in digital media in a self-determined and safe manner. We want to enable people to communicate their concerns, to stand up for their issues, to develop an attitude and to use media creatively and with joy. In the sense of inclusive media education, media education has all people in mind and is committed to implementing the right of people with disabilities to unrestricted participation in the information society, in mediatized worlds and in communication culture.
HOW DOES YOUR PORTAL HELP YOU?
The GMK represents a strong network for our more than 1,000 members. With our association's portal, we offer the members, the board, the extended board, i.e. our spokespersons, and also the office a virtual place for exchange and digital collaborative work.
HOW HAS YOUR WORK CHANGED SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC?
Actually, not so much, because we have already used the portal and digital media for our club work before. Of course, real-life meetings have become much less frequent, and we meet more regularly in video conferences than before. This has had the greatest impact on formats such as conferences and larger meetings, which we have moved to digital over the last two years. However, since the club is networked nationwide, the digital preparation of many activities has already played a major role in the club's work.
WHICH TOOL DO WE USE THE MOST?
We provide all specialist and regional groups with their own group on our association's WECHANGE platform for internal exchange and preparation for activities. The board and office also use their groups intensively for this purpose. The most commonly used tools are the pads and, since the switch to Netxtcloud, also the text and spreadsheet documents for collaborative work.
Visit our portal at https://mitglieder.gmk-net.de/login/https://dina.international/
Photo credits:
Cover photo: WECHANGE
Pictures in the blog article: GMK