About us

News Decoder was founded on a simple observation: young people are curious about the world, but they often lack the context to understand what they’re seeing.

In 2015, former Reuters journalist Nelson Graves noticed this during travels with his millennial children. They saw headlines on their phones, but they didn’t have the historical background, the geographic knowledge or the critical thinking tools to make sense of those headlines.

So he asked: What if we used journalism education to help young people not just consume news, but understand it? What if we taught them to think like correspondents — to be curious, critical and contextual? What if we connected them with real journalists who could mentor them through the reporting process?

One crowdfunding campaign later and News Decoder was born.

A decade on, we’ve worked with almost 90 schools in 26 countries. We’ve published more than 2,000 stories. We’ve built a network of 50+ correspondents who give their time because they believe in the mission.

And we’re just getting started.

Our mission

To inform, connect and empower young people to become active global citizens through journalism.

Our vision

A world where every young person — regardless of where they live or what school they attend — has the skills to navigate complexity, question sources, appreciate diverse perspectives and communicate with clarity and purpose.

We imagine a generation that doesn’t just inherit the challenges of climate change, inequality and polarization, but has the tools to address them.

Why News Decoder

Today’s world is more complex, interconnected — and confusing — than ever before.

Young people are growing up amid global crises, rapid technological change and an overwhelming flow of information, much of it inaccurate or misleading. They care about issues at a local and global level, from climate change and inequality to the erosion of democratic norms.

What many lack are the tools, guidance and opportunities to turn their concerns into action.

Schools cannot do it all, especially in an AI-driven information landscape. While formal education provides essential foundations, it cannot always provide the hands-on experience students need to navigate an information-saturated world and apply their learning beyond the classroom. Too many leave school with limited opportunities to develop concrete media literacy, intercultural understanding and real-world civic skills. 

News Decoder exists to close these gaps.

We use journalism as a powerful educational tool to help young people think critically about information and channel their curiosity and values into informed, responsible storytelling. We support educators reimagining what and how their students learn. We empower school communities to better understand the world and contribute to positive change. 

How we do it

Through past and present partnerships with nearly 90 schools across five continents, we teach and model the tools and techniques of journalism that help young people better understand complex international issues.

Our educational services include mentoring by professional journalists, practical training in pitching and interviewing, webinars on global issues, e-learning courses and handbooks on reporting and writing.

Through our news site, we publish original stories by professional journalists and student reporters on underreported issues in countries and regions often overlooked by the mainstream press. Together, these stories show young people how global challenges are interconnected, and how informed reporting can point to solutions.

Who we are

News Decoder is the educational services unit of Nouvelles-Découvertes, a French nonprofit association under the law of 1901, whose mission is to inform young people about international relations with tolerance, objectivity and broad vision.

Learn more about our team, our correspondents, our supporters and our program and media partners.

Qui sommes-nous?

News Decoder est une activité de Nouvelles-Découvertes, association loi 1901 à but non lucratif. Nouvelles-Découvertes a comme objectifs:

• Promouvoir l’éducation et l’information des jeunes de par le monde au sujet des grands thèmes d’actualité internationale;
• Diffuser et échanger des textes, articles de presse et/ou d’information, de photographies, de vidéos, de graphiques et d’autres moyens d’information, existants ou à venir, sur ces grands thèmes d’actualité sur tous supports On ou Offline;
• Organiser, animer et produire des événements et des manifestations facilitant les échanges entres citoyens de différentes régions du monde afin de promouvoir la compréhension et le respect mutuel;
• Créer un forum et des plateformes de diffusion d’information favorisant la libre expression d’idées et de perspectives, toujours avec tolérance, objectivité et une vision large.

RN W751229654 (Inscrit le 4 juin 2015)