"A media education plan supports the implementation, assessment and predictability of activities. Clearly planned work is easier to make visible also for others. A plan makes media education work easier to make visible to others. The plan can help to clarify the shared vision on the role and opportu
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nities of media education in your own organisation.Outlining operating conditions establishes peace to develop and do high-quality work. This guide helps you to prepare a media education plan. The plan and its´ preparation can be made in many different ways and in different scope. The themes and questions of the guide help to take into account the different aspect of media education work. You can choose the relevant questions based on your own perspective. This guide is based on the workshop conducted in the Finnish Media Education Forum 2020. We wish to share our acknowledgement to all the contributors." (Page 1)
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"This book, part of the BEA Electronic Media Research Series, brings together top scholars researching media literacy and lays out the current state of the field in areas such as propaganda, news, participatory culture, representation, education, social/environmental justice, and civic engagement. T
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he field of media literacy continues to undergo changes and challenges as audiences are reconceptualized and reconfigured, media industries are transformed and replaced, and the production of media texts is available to anyone with a smartphone. The book provides an overview of these. It offers readers specific examples and recommendations to help others as they develop their own teaching and research agendas." (Publisher description)
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"The very basis for journalism to perform its societal role of enabling a well-informed citizenry through the factual reporting of news, grounded in professional standards of accuracy, sincerity and objectivity is that it is undertaken safely. Indeed, the ability of journalism to pursue what we here
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name a “civil role” (Harrison, 2019), which fosters solidarising inclusion among members of society in support of a shared communicative civil life, is conditioned by its inextricable relationship with a well-informed citizenry. Key to this relationship is a media and information literate public that is able, not only to critically evaluate media, but also has the capability to understand the societal value of journalism. This paper therefore argues that strategies to secure journalistic safety must consider how this relationship between journalism and a media and information literate citizenry is prone to attack by divisive anti-civil forces (e.g. from illegitimate state and market intrusion) that produce conditions of civil diminishment and un-safety for journalists (Harrison, 2019 and Torsner, 2019). This paper first develops a theoretical understanding of the link between a media and information literate citizenry and the (un)-safety of journalism. It establishes how journalistic safety is both positively linked to a media and information literate public that functions as a potential bulwark against attacks targeting journalism – forms of civil resistance, and negatively interlinked with a media and information illiterate citizenry that engenders hostility towards journalism. We conclude that strengthening the media and information literacy of society should be considered as a strategy to safeguard a free, independent and safe environment for journalism. Second, the paper uses empirical case studies to illustrate the role of citizens and communities of audiences in protecting journalism through expressions of solidarity that articulate an understanding of the societal value of journalism. Doing so the paper examines how a strong relationship of trust between journalism and communities of audiences, and between journalism and members of society, via media and information literacy, can serve to protect journalism in contexts where independent journalism is restricted and regularly attacked." (Abstract)
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"Young Ugandans are reluctant to voice their concerns and take part in public discussions according to indicative findings from the MIL INDEX country study presented here. The eight focus groups conducted for the study in Kampala and Bugembe early in 2019 revealed that youths are using both traditio
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nal and social media extensively, but discussions of political and public issues take place mainly in closed circles on platforms like WhatsApp. “It is a suffocated environment,” says media expert Gerald Businge.
This MIL INDEX study is aimed at obtaining a concise picture of media- and information-related skills amongst youths under the age of 35 in Uganda. It addresses five dimensions of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) based on DW Akademie’s MIL model: access, analysis, reflection, creation, and action.
The focus group participants see themselves living in the “the dot-com era” though access to the Internet and even television is far from universal in Uganda. The smartphone is the most popular device and it serves as a benchmark when judging more traditional media (radio, television, and newspapers). Social media are used alongside traditional media, but there is a feeling that traditional media, especially radio, are losing touch with the Ugandan youth of today. There is a general neglect of printed media, based on an aversion to long reads and often also difficulties in understanding them. Some participants feel they are addicted to social media and online messengers.
When it comes to analytical skills, the Ugandan youths in the focus groups are not very critical of the media environment they live in despite the overwhelming evidence that state control, intimidation, and media concentration are problems in Uganda. But they do pick up on news bias and sensationalism. They are also aware of the fact that online sources and social media information should not be trusted blindly. Participants can differentiate between quality and tabloid-type media, but an alarming proportion does not know their constitutional right to freedom of expression.
The level of reflection on the part of focus group participants is medium to low. They can render many cases of cyberbullying/hate speech, disinformation and cybercrime, though they are not always aware of the difference. Especially the examples of cyber-harassment that are recounted in the focus groups reveal that female youths are primarily targeted. At the same time there seems to be little in the way of counselling for victims and there was not enough reflection of the background to such malevolent forms of communication. Strategies in coping with them are not very elaborate, though some groups did mention methods of verification in the context of disinformation several times. There is considerable potential for support when it comes to dealing with cyberbullying, cyber-harassment, hate speech and cybercrime." (Executive summary)
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"Overall, this evaluation has shown that over the last biennia UNESCO has made significant achievements through its work in MIL and is holding the lead in this constantly evolving field that has gained increasing importance at the forefront of global and national agendas. It also revealed that MIL o
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ffers increasingly interdisciplinary opportunities for the Organization and strategic decisions are needed as to the level of priority and adequacy of resources required for optimally positioning this strand of work to contribute to the achievement of Agenda 2030 through a wide range of topics. Among other, work on data privacy and big data, media and freedom of expression areas, a focus on PVE and a boost towards the disinformation, life-long learning and artificial intelligence approaches, as well as an enhanced focus on disadvantaged groups and a more consistent approach to advancing gender equality will allow UNESCO to remain at the forefront and to keep and expand its intellectual and foresight role in the area of MIL." (Abstract)
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"Young Ivorians are adept at using digital media. They are creative when it comes to using digital media and many have developed strategies to cope with media malpractices such as cyberbullying or hate speech. These are two significant, indicative findings from the present MIL INDEX country study. B
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oth seem very impressive considering the challenges of high illiteracy rates and the strongly politicized national media landscape in Côte d’Ivoire. The results of the study are drawn from eight focus groups conducted in the beginning of 2019 in Abidjan and Bouaké and interviews with eight local experts. They confirm that young people are very good at using and creating content on social media but urgently need better critical, analytical, and reflective skills.
This MIL INDEX study is aimed at obtaining a concise picture of media- and information-related skills amongst youths under the age of 35 in Côte d’Ivoire. It addresses five dimensions of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) according to DW Akademie’s MIL model: access, analysis, reflection, creation, and action.
In terms of access the focus groups conducted for this study reveal that young urban and semi-urban Ivorians use a variety of different media for purposes such as consuming information, communication, entertainment, education, or business information. Digital media, particularly social media platforms and instant messengers, are the most used and most popular among this age group and are generally preferred over traditional media. Nonetheless, radio and television are still valued for their auditory and visual input which are significant characteristics considering the high illiteracy rates of about 40,4 % present in Côte d’Ivoire (UIS, 2018). A divide between more urban and more rural regions is visible in the case of radio programs, which are more popular in more rural settings. The focus groups suggest this is due to the fact that local radio stations are often the only media which provide news relevant to more remote areas. Most other media show a tendency to focus only on news from the capital. Printed media are widely regarded as too costly and outdated by Ivorian youths.
The results of the analysis dimension indicate that most focus group participants possess a good digital and media knowledge while at the same time many lack awareness of their rights to freedom of expression and access to information. Striking was that youths generally consider content provided by traditional media to be more trustworthy, but mainly consume social media content. This and often very loose definitions of what media quality means showed that there is still room for improvement when it comes to the young people’s analytical skills. Overall, urbanites seem to question the trustworthiness of media content slightly more than youths from more rural regions.
Results from the reflection dimension confirm that Ivorian youths are constantly exposed to malevolent forms of communication and media malpractices such as cyberbullying, hate speech, sexual harassment, and disinformation. Most young people show strong abilities when it comes to recognizing media problems and using prevention or coping strategies to handle them. Exceptions are politically motivated disinformation and biased reporting which are taken as normal in the Ivorian context. Due to this tendency towards normalization only very few young people reflect critically upon this media malpractice. Reflection on a deeper level such as on the impact of media messages or motivations of news outlets is often missing among young people." (Executive summary)
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"The Council of the European Union [...] invites the Commission and member states, within their areas of competence and in due compliance with the principle of subsidiarity, to: 42. continue and undertake further efforts in terms of a systematic, comprehensive and cross-sectoral approach to developi
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ng media literacy and raising awareness of the importance of media literacy; national efforts undertaken in this perspective, including funding initiatives, should be accompanied at EU level; 43. foster better use of the possibilities offered by EU funds and EU programmes to support media education and diverse media literacy projects and initiatives (e.g. support for the media through the Creative Europe programme, in particular the new action on support for the media) and to develop additional funding sources as well as create synergies between the relevant EU programmes; 44. ensure that media literacy measures targeting minors under the Better Internet for Children Strategy keep pace with the continuously evolving digital environment; 45. finance and foster systematic and regular research into media literacy and the impact of media and digital platforms (e. g. systematic research on media literacy measures and initiatives; research into the influence of new media and communication platforms on well-being of citizens; research into the operation of algorithms and AI and their influence on public opinion, people’s lives, and media consumption, as well as on the European media and audiovisual industry); 46. support the audiovisual industry in developing quality European content and distribution platforms, taking into account the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the audiovisual sector in general; 47. encourage platforms and media outlets to cooperate on the development of tools and processes that promote the visibility and findability of quality news sources, along with the visibility and findability of quality European audiovisual content." (Page 26)
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"Ghana’s youth is embracing digital. According to the representative survey conducted for DW Akademie’s MIL INDEX study, three quarters of 15-25-year-olds own a smartphone. Over 70 % report going online with a mobile phone as well as using Facebook and WhatsApp on a weekly basis. Use of several
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different social networks and messengers is widespread and frequent. More data intensive networks like Snapchat (34.7%), YouTube (29%) and Instagram (26%) are used by a fairly large proportion of survey respondents every week. “We virtually live our lives on the Internet,” as one girl put it during a focus group conducted in Accra. “[I]f it’s about politics, if it’s about entertainment, if it’s about education, you can find enough information on the Internet using your smartphone.
The country report presented here is based on the findings of the MIL INDEX study, for which a representative survey, eight focus groups and seven expert interviews were conducted in Ghana between November 2018 and April 2019. The study focused on five Media and Information Literacy (MIL) skill sets: access, analysis, reflection, creation, and action. For each of these dimensions, survey respondents received a score ranging between 0 (= no skills whatsoever) and 20 (= highest level of skills) points, adding up to a maximum of 100 points. The scoring system measures how often certain skills are actually put into practice (access, creation, action) or tests the skills directly (analysis, reflection). Since citizens cannot permanently use media and information sources, unless they are journalists or media workers, a perfect score of 100 for any country appears unrealistic—it is more about the relative performance across time and in comparison to other countries, as well as being a tool for identifying deficits to be addressed in media development.
The 15-25-year-old Ghanaians on average displayed good skills in terms of action (13.9) and analysis (13.1), and intermediate skills when it came to creation (11.4). Deficits were mainly found in terms of reflection (10.2) and access (10.8). The total score amounted to 59.5 out of a possible 100." (Executive summary)
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"This report aims to assess the perception of the media and media skills among the citizens of the Republic of Moldova in 2020 and shows the dynamics compared to the first similar report conducted in 2018. This study assesses the extent to which media consumers can assess the quality media content,
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the level of knowledge among different target groups on issues such as propaganda and disinformation. In order to achieve the proposed objectives, was conducted a qualitative study and a quantitative study." (Summary)
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"Reliable, high quality information is a key priority for the young generation in Burkina Faso. Perhaps as a consequence of political insecurities and the prevalence of violent extremism, a majority of young people between 15 and 25 years seems very aware of the negative consequences of malevolent f
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orms of communication such as cyberbullying, disinformation and hate speech. At the same time, many young people lack vital Media and Information Literacy skills in the fields of access, creation and analysis of media content. This is according to results from a 2019 representative survey conducted for the MIL INDEX study on behalf of DW Akademie. Cyrille Guel from media NGO EducommunicAfrik echoes these findings, saying in an interview for the study that a basic knowledge of “how media work and how information is disseminated” is lacking. Denis Vincenti of development agency Fondation Hirondelle argues that this lack of skills emanates from the fact that young people are not given a chance to voice their concerns in the country, despite below 25-year-olds accounting for roughly 65 % of the population. The country report presented here is based on the findings of the MIL INDEX study, for which a representative survey, eight focus groups and six expert interviews were conducted in Burkina Faso between November 2018 and April 2019. The Study focused on five Media and Information Literacy (MIL) skill sets: Access, analysis, reflection, creation and action. For each of these dimensions, survey respondents received a score ranging between 0 (= no skills whatsoever) and 20 (= highest level of skills) points, adding up to a total maximum score of 100. The average 15-25-year-old Burkinabè respondent had moderate to good skills when it came to access (10.5), analysis (10.8), as well as reflection (11.5). Deficits were found mainly in the areas of action (8.2) and creation (5.6). The total score amounted to 46.6 out of a possible 100." (Executive summary)
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