Media Literacy Curriculum for Athletes: Teaching Materials

The internet and social media have enabled athletes to establish direct contact with the public, fans, the media, and sponsors; at the same time, however, they have increased athletes' exposure to unverified information, sensationalist stories, manipulated content, and pressure to respond quickly. For athletes, therefore, the issue of media literacy is not an abstract topic: it can be linked to their health, public image, and athletic careers, as well as to decisions informed by information on training, nutrition, rehabilitation, or current events.

The OLYMP project—*Fostering Media Literacy and Athlete Empowerment through Olympic Values*—is grounded in the connection among reading, critical thinking, and resilience against disinformation. Its overall goal is to develop and pilot an innovative methodology and curriculum to enhance the media literacy of young athletes and improve their ability to critically evaluate information. The project is funded under the European Union’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values ​​(CERV) programme (Grant Agreement No. 101147018).

The project is coordinated by the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC), with a consortium that includes the University of Maribor, the University of Maribor Library (UKM), the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR), and the Lithuanian Olympians Association (LOA). The partnership brings together sports and cultural institutions to bring media literacy closer to athletes in the environments where they train, operate, and communicate.