Meanwhile, in France... Screen Freedom!  

Founding ACME member and longtime board member Jacques Brodeur, founder of the Canadian media literacy organization Edupax, recently spent three months in France presenting to students, teachers, and parents in six elementary schools and eight high schools to prepare participants for the 10-Day Screen-Free Challenge. This Challenge is a playful educational opportunity to introduce critical media literacy in schools and communities, an exercise to help users master technology instead of letting it turn them into addicted consumers, powerless citizens, or digital slaves. According to the Edupax website, “When TV and screens are neutralized, kids discover another life.... The 10-Day Challenge is a great exercise in responsible consumption, mental health, and social mobilization.”
 
Inspired by the SMART (Student Media Awareness to Reduce Television) program, Brodeur created the 10-Day TV and Video Game-Free Challenge in 2003 in partnership with the Association des comités de parents de la région de la Capitale-Nationale et Chaudière-Appalaches and with financial support from the public safety departments of Québec and Canada; 11 elementary schools and one secondary school in Quebec participated. In 2008, as the Challenge spread within Quebec, two organizations in Strasbourg, France, asked Brodeur to train their staff. In the years following, the Challenge spread even farther, with schools in 15 regions across France supporting and implementing the program. This year marked Brodeur’s longest stay in France, with 64 schools participating, the most in a single year; click here for a complete list of more than 260 schools that have implemented the Challenge since 2008. Perhaps this can inspire teachers and parents in the United States. If you or your local school is interested, please contact Jacques Brodeur! Also, English-language materials to implement the Challenge are available due to efforts by American media educator Kristine Paulsen. And please watch the ACME website for a full report on the history and current success of the Challenge.