PARIS – The University of Maine Cooperative Extension will sponsor a workshop on media literacy from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, at the Oxford County Extension Office, 9 Olson Road, South Paris.

Those who wish to register should contact the Oxford County Extension Office at 743-6329 or Susan Jennings at susanj@umext.maine.edu. Cost of $10 will cover lunch and materials. Space is limited.

What is media literacy? How does today’s media culture construct reality, produce meaning and define masculinity and femininity for young people? How are girls and boys uniquely vulnerable and what can we do to make a difference?

Workshop participants will explore answers to the questions using media literacy activities that can be adapted for use in school and community settings. They will discuss one community education and action strategy, “Turn Beauty Inside Out, Maine.”

Turn Beauty Inside Out, Maine is a grassroots celebration of a new cultural definition of beauty as “good hearts, great works and activism” and a celebration of media images that promote healthy development.

It is community education and public awareness project focusing on issues of medical literacy, body image, self-esteem and leadership development for girls and women and is about education, activism and social change.

The training is for teachers, 4-H and Girl Scout leaders, youth advisers, after-school program staff and other professionals and volunteers who work with young people. It is designed to support adults in taking these concepts, activities and action strategies back to their work with young people.

The workshop will be presented by Aileen M. Fortune, associate Extension professor at UMCE and coordinator of Turn Beauty Inside Out, Maine. Her office is at the York County Extension Office in Sanford.