Borbála Csikós is an English teacher and head of the bilingual department at Petőfi Sándor Secondary Grammar School in Papa, Hungary. She teaches at language schools and companies and organizes teacher training programs nationwide. She also works as a freelance life- and business-coach, holding conflict management and team building workshops in both English and Hungarian. Borbála coauthored the ME Elementary and ME Intermediate course books.

IVLP Impact Award Project: Engaging Youth in the Battle Against Disinformation

The project examines the dangers of disinformation and the importance of detecting it. Through interactive, competitive games, up to 40 students from 10 different secondary schools along with their teachers will be educated on how to spot disinformation. Borbála hopes that project participants will learn to be discerning consumers of media and gain insight into the impact of disinformation on the social, economic, and political fabric.

Borbála is in the preparatory phases of her project. She is currently designing the webpage for her project, where she will upload all her project resources for students and teachers to access. This month, Borbála plans to continue coordinating with project partners and distributing the application to local schools to raise awareness among students and teachers about the program. The main event is officially scheduled for January 6, 2025, after students return from their winter holiday break.

“My program is unique…because of…its creativeness: learning through games and fun is the best way to engage and motivate teenagers.” – Borbála Csikós

IVLP Exchange Experience

Borbála participated in the IVLP Project 21^st Century ChangeMaker: Engaging Youth in the Battle against Disinformation organized by the U.S. Department of State and Meridian International Center, in partnership with Global Ties Alabama, WorldDenver, WorldBoston, and Global Santa Fe.

Borbála’s exchange experience led to the development of her project: “My IVLP project in the U.S. examined model programs and social campaigns promoting youth leadership and civic engagement contexts. My plan is to start a serious conversation on how we can implement [these] experienced and observed methods in our Hungarian system.”

U.S. Communities Visited 

Birmingham, AL; Denver, CO; Washington, DC; Boston, MA; Santa Fe, NM

Country: Hungary

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