Abstract:

This oral presentation presents findings from Di/g/ary: Journaling toward media literacy in art class, a four-month project (January–April 2026) with eleven upper secondary students (ages 17–18) in Vienna, Austria. The project combines democracy education with visual arts pedagogy, strengthening media literacy through digital diary creation and culminating in a collaborative magazine. It addresses the urgent need to strengthen democratic competencies among young people, particularly in media-saturated environments where misinformation and polarization threaten civic engagement.

Grounded in critical democracy education and qualitative evaluation research, Di/g/ary integrates parliament visits, expert dialogues, and artistic documentation practices. Students explore democratic institutions not as passive observers but as active participants, translating civic experiences into visual narratives. The methodology employs pre-post questionnaires, group discussions, and artifact analysis to investigate how aesthetic-practical approaches develop democratic and media literacy competencies.

Preliminary findings indicate that digital diary creation enables students to critically engage with political processes beyond traditional civics education. The artistic medium provides accessible entry points for diverse learners, fostering both creative expression and analytical thinking about democracy. Students demonstrate increased awareness of media construction, source credibility, and their own agency within democratic systems. The collaborative magazine production further develops skills in consensus-building, diverse perspective integration, and collective decision-making.

This research contributes to international debates on innovative democracy education pedagogies, particularly at the intersection of arts education and media literacy. In contexts where traditional citizenship education struggles to engage youth, Di/g/ary demonstrates how participatory, aesthetically-oriented approaches can cultivate critical democratic competencies. The project offers transferable frameworks for educators seeking to address SDG 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions) through creative pedagogical innovation in secondary education.

Keywords:

Democracy education, art education, art class, media literacy, digital diary.