MEMBER PRESS RELEASE

Fake or fact: SRG and SBB launch new module for SBB school and adventure train

20th August 2024

The rolling classroom will drive through Switzerland with a new train car on the subject of “fake news” from today. The aim is to sensitize young people in a playful way, to distinguish fake news and facts. The new module focuses on media literacy.

This press release was originally published by SRG SSR.

Playful and interactive: The rolling classroom has been encouraging children and young people to take responsibility for ten years – and in very different areas. This year, the train was expanded in cooperation with the SRG by a car on the subject of “fake news”. This new module was opened today by Vincent Ducrot, CEO of SBB, SRG Director General Gilles Marchand, Federal Councilor Albert Rösti and Dagmar Rösler, Central President of the Swiss Teachers’ Umbrella Association. The new content aims to promote the media literacy of students and to help them distinguish fakes from facts.

Read more: How RSI’s youth platform reaches young audiences (Insight)

Interactive knowledge transfer

The topics are serious, the presentation is playful, interactive and close to the reality of life. The students learn first-hand what it means to become a victim of fake news and what a thoughtlessly posted picture can trigger in a wrong context. A new, holistic approach with concrete tips has been developed for the topic, which raises awareness of both fake news and insults and frauds. When visiting the SBB school and adventure train, the children and young people are encouraged to take responsibility – both on the subject of media literacy and in the areas of safety, sustainable energy use, mobility and career choice. “Students are given a good opportunity to gain experience outside the classroom by visiting out-of-school learning places and to develop interest in various topics,” says Dagmar Rösler, Central President of the Teachers’ Association of Teachers Switzerland, at the inauguration of the new module.

“The SRG must … help the audience and especially young people to find their way in the digital society – in a complex, networked and fast-paced society in which it becomes difficult to distinguish between credible information and “alternative facts”. – Gilles Marchand, SRG Director

Unique educational offer and a strong partnership

“The SBB school and adventure train is a unique educational offer for public transport. With the new cooperation, SRG and SBB contribute to promoting the media literacy of young people,” says SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot. The students should be able to understand information and events in their environment, critically question them and form a well-founded opinion.

“The SRG must not only provide careful, balanced and diverse information, but it must also help the audience and especially young people to find their way in the digital society – in a complex, networked and fast-paced society in which it becomes difficult to distinguish between credible information and “alternative facts”. In cooperation with SBB, the new car against “fake news” has created a unique and interactive place of learning,” explains SRG Director General Gilles Marchand. In addition, the school and adventure train is intended to intensify the dialogue with the population and strengthen the formation of opinion. Federal Councilor Albert Rösti emphasizes the relevance of the rolling classroom at the inauguration: “This train is important, because it not only travels through Switzerland, it also travels into the future.”