"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
...
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)
more
"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
...
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)
more
"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
...
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)
more
"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
...
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)
more
"The young generation in Kenya rejects disinformative and hateful communication. When asked for their opinion on these matters in a representative survey, a majority of 15-25-year-olds evaluated them as “not to be trusted” and “not funny”. This is one of the most important results of DW Akad
...
emie’s MIL INDEX study in Kenya. The finding is all the more relevant considering the fact that in the East African country, “propaganda and fake news is a big problem—it is everywhere, in the social media especially,” as Wallace Gichunge of the Kenyan Center for Media and Information Literacy pointed out in an interview conducted for the Study.
The country report presented here is based on the findings of the MIL INDEX study, for which a representative survey, eight focus groups, and eight expert interviews were conducted in Kenya 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. 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 Kenyans displayed good skills when it came to analysis (13.1) and action (12.9) and moderate to good skills in terms of reflection (11.4) as well as access (11.9). Deficits were found mainly in the creation dimension (9.9). The total score amounted to 59,2 out of a possible 100." (Executive summary)
more
"Heranwachsende wünschen sich Medien, die verständlich berichten, Hintergründe und Lösungsmöglichkeiten aufzeigen. Wie das Konzept des konstruktiven Journalismus dabei hilft und wie es in der Journalismusausbildung eingesetzt werden kann, zeigt dieses Buch." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
"While global youth is often referred to as a fairly homogeneous generation of digital natives, data drawn from a survey in Jordan, Moldova, and Uganda suggests that this is not the case. Based on an instrument for measuring digital and news literacy, this paper presents a typology of five personae:
...
The MIL Novice, the MIL Intermediate, the MIL Veteran, the Digital Literacy Veteran and the News Literacy Veteran. The descriptions of these five types of media users can be employed as prototypes when developing Media and Information Literacy (MIL) programs and materials for 15 to 35-year-olds." (Executive summary)
more
"This study analysed the media-literacy content in curricula of nine select universities in Africa’s most populous nation: Nigeria. Some key findings revealed that: (a) media-literacy courses proper were not on the curricula; (b) media-literacy-related courses, which stood as proxies, accounted fo
...
r about two per cent of the curricula; and (c) media-literacy-related courses were available to students only as electives. The present research indicates that media-literate students tend to be skilled in accessing information about their health, environment, education and work. They would also be able to evaluate media content critically and to make informed decisions as users of digital technology sources, as well as to becoming producers of media contents in their own right. Based on the accumulated skills of media literacy for contemporary young people, it was recommended that communications programmes redesign their curricula to include media literacy and related courses. Also, communication educators should be more receptive to the importance of media literacy skills in the education of their students." (Abstract)
more
"Jugendliche informieren sich heute primär digital. Umso wichtiger ist es, dass sie bei der Nutzung von digitalen Medien in der Lage sind, Nachrichten und Informationsquellen richtig einzuordnen und wahre von falschen Meldungen zu unterscheiden. Dieses Buch gibt kompetent Auskunft zum Thema. Google
...
, YouTube und andere Suchmaschinen und Soziale Netzwerke gehören heute ganz selbstverständlich zu unserem Alltag. Man kann sich rund um die Uhr informieren, sich mit seinen Freunden austauschen und eigene Fotos, Erlebnisse und Ideen posten. Bei der Informationsrecherche im Netz sind seriöse Angebote aber oft schwer zu unterscheiden von Werbung, manipulierten oder falschen Beiträgen. Quelle und Herkunft sind oft nicht ausfindig zu machen. Um sich nicht in den Filterblasen von Suchmaschinen und sozialen Netzwerken zu verlieren und nicht auf Fake News, gefakte Profile oder andere Manipulationen hereinzufallen, ist es wichtig, verschiedene Informationsquellen zu nutzen und sich eine eigene, unabhängige Meinung zu bilden. Dieses Buch gibt einen umfassenden Einblick in die vielfältige Welt der Medien und vermittelt Tipps und Hilfestellungen zum richtigen Umgang mit ihnen." (Verlagsbeschreibung Loewe Verlag)
more
"Auf Glaubwürdigkeit und Vertrauen, auch auf die Allgemeingültigkeit grundlegender und verbindlicher Wertvorstellungen, gründet sich allerdings das Zusammenleben in der menschlichen Gesellschaft. Wo verbreitet Misstrauen herrscht, ist ein konstruktives Miteinander kaum noch möglich. Wenn Misstra
...
uen sogar absichtlich geschürt wird, um zu polarisieren, gefährdet dies unsere Demokratie. Öffentliche Debatten werden in vielen Fällen aggressiver, falsche Aussagen verbreiten sich schneller denn je. Den klugen Umgang mit Informationen muss man lernen, möglichst schon in der Schule. Insofern ist Glaubwürdigkeit auch bedeutsam für die politische Bildung. Über ein so kontroverses Thema muss man mit überzeugenden Argumenten auf der Grundlage nachprüfbarer Informationen sprechen und auch streiten, um sich eine Meinung zu bilden. Dazu will dieser Band beitragen. Die Schwierigkeit – oder eher Kunst – bei einem so breit angelegten Thema liegt in der Beschränkung. Nach reiflicher Überlegung haben wir uns entschieden, „Glaubwürdigkeit“ in den drei gesellschaftlichen Feldern „Politik“, „Medien“ und „Gesellschaft“ aus verschiedenen Perspektiven zu beleuchten." (Editorial, Seite 8)
more
"At the forefront in its field, this Handbook examines the theoretical, conceptual, pedagogical and methodological development of media literacy education and research around the world. Building on traditional media literacy frameworks in critical analysis, evaluation, and assessment, it incorporate
...
s new literacies emerging around connective technologies, mobile platforms, and social networks. A global perspective rather than a Western-centric point of view is explicitly highlighted, with contributors from all continents, to show the empirical research being done at the intersection of media, education, and engagement in daily life. Structured around five themes—Educational Interventions; Safeguarding/Data and Online Privacy; Engagement in Civic Life; Media, Creativity and Production; Digital Media Literacy—the volume as a whole emphasizes the competencies needed to engage in meaningful participation in digital culture." (Publisher description)
more
"This article presents an ethnographic approach to how low-income Brazilians of impoverished urban areas have engaged in community journalism and media activism. Exploring empirical materials collected during a seven-year research process (2009-2016), the article has two main objectives. One is to a
...
nalyze how low-income youth reflect on their own processes of engagement in communication for social change (CFSC). Another objective is to demonstrate how ethnography can provide in-depth analyses of trajectories and initiatives in CFSC. The article primarily focuses on retrospective accounts of young adults who had participated in media-educational projects by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and subsequently became active agents of change in, through and about media. The analysis of these accounts indicates how the participation in NGO projects characterize actions for self-development. It also demonstrates how interactions among participants–not necessarily anticipated by NGOs –are crucial for low-income youth to engage in activist media and journalism in peripheral Rio de Janeiro. The article ends with a reflection about how ethnography is a useful method to add in-depth qualitative layers to the evaluation of CFSC initiatives." (Abstract)
more
"Based on a bibliometric and scientific study of research conducted in Europe, North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Arab world, parts of Africa and Asia on the links between the use of social media and the phenomena of radicalization, the Report analyzes more than 550 studies published i
...
n scientific literature and “grey literature”, covering outputs in English (260), French (196) and Arabic (96). It shows that very little research has focused on the effective role of the use of social media in violent radicalization. Although many articles deal with electronic strategies and the use of the Internet and online social media for recruitment, there are very few empirical studies that describe and examine the real effects of these strategies on youth, and they rarely examine gender aspects. The Report examines the specificities of online prevention initiatives: counter/alternative narratives and media information literacy (MIL). Several formal and informal MIL initiatives have been implemented around the world according to MIL as a pedagogical practice with a specific set of skills that can respond to narratives of anger and revenge." (Executive summary, page 5)
more
"Los jóvenes constituyentes del estudio -hombres y mujeres, estudiantes de primer año de licenciatura de la universidad pública y universidades privadas de la ciudad de La Paz- alcanzan el grado de competencia mediática Desfavorable, en la escala adecuada para la investigación. La categoría De
...
sfavorable es el rango en el que se ubica el puntaje total logrado: 31,73 puntos, producto de la suma de los conseguidos en las ocho dimensiones. Ese puntaje total corresponde al 31,73% del 100% posible. Esto desvela un limitado nivel en la competencia mediática que poseen estas personas, dentro de los criterios establecidos para la presente investigación." (Balance y análisis, página 92)
more
"Youth in Palestine have been framed as disengaged from politics, in comparison with their spectacular activism during the two intifadas, and as unaccomplished citizens, as a result of their political circumstances. This article addresses a rethinking of the notion of citizenship, in the context of
...
Palestinian youth, towards a more nuanced conceptualization. My investigation departs from a participatory photography exercise carried out in 2014, with a group of five young Palestinians living in the city of Nablus. Through the use of visual methods, which offer an alternative way of seeing their experiences, I discuss young people’s ordinary practices and everyday encounters with the notion of citizenship and consider how a micro-sociological approach based on the concept of lived citizenship may allow us to move beyond passive/engaged and personal/political binaries, typical in citizenship studies." (Abstract)
more
"Ein alberner Tweet kann den Job kosten, freizügiges Verhalten und Sorglosigkeit einem die Lust am Leben rauben: Der digitale Pranger kennt oft keine Vergebung und keine Gnade. Höchste Zeit umzudenken und zu differenzieren. Anhand von Studienbefunden wird die aktuelle Dimension dieses generationen
...
übergreifenden Phänomens gezeigt und dann der Fokus auf Schulen gerichtet. In Deutschland wird pro Woche in jeder dritten Schule ein Cybermobbing-Fall gemeldet, aber nur jede fünfte geht das Thema systematisch an. In Norwegen zum Beispiel sind Schulen verpflichtet, digitalen Demütigungen vorzubeugen. Normativ und auch mit dem ethischen Prinzip der Tatherrschaft begründet, ist es keine Option, bloß zuzusehen, wenn andere virtuell geplagt werden. Es gilt zu handeln - so wie wir uns dies wünschten, wenn wir selber ähnlich angegriffen würden. Handlungsvorschläge und beispielhafte Initiativen bilden das Fazit des Beitrags." (Abstract)
more
"This preliminary technical report examines the relationship between media uses of Lebanese youth and their potential attraction to extremism—broadly conceived. The study focuses on school students aged 14 to 18 and their teachers. It is based on 16 focus groups distributed across the country and
...
covers a total of 80 students and 80 teachers. To research youth’s media uses and their understanding of media and digital literacy, the study examines their use of various media tools: traditional and digital media, as well as social media, games, and smartphones. The qualitative study reveals various types of extremist inclinations among youth, including religious/sectarian, political, familial/tribal, and racial extremism. Some patterns of extremism may be linked to students’ uses of the Internet and social media, as a catalyst or trigger for action. The widespread use of chatting applications shows a potential risk for connection with extremist groups, while the use of violent video games demonstrates a potential link to students’ violent reactions in their communities, as the examples in the report show. Consistently, participating students are especially drawn to violent, horror and action films. The study also reveals that students are less interested in watching television, which has declined in favor of new media platforms. When it comes to policies regarding media uses that aim to protect students from extremism, few schools have them, yet all except one school teacher expressed concerns about their students receiving media messages that incite violent behavior and lead to recruitment by extremist groups. The teachers expressed fear that their students may be potentially encouraged through new media to engage in risky and violent acts, including extremism, terrorism, early sexual behavior, and drug abuse. Despite this fear, findings show that extremism among the young students was the most limited in schools where clear policies regulate media uses, curricula include some digital and media literacy instruction, and teachers follow up with students when they detect signs of extremist behaviors." (Abstract)
more
"El proyecto Videoteca de las Culturas de la Dirección de Diversidad Cultural y Eliminación de la Discriminación Racial, prioriza la utilización del medio audiovisual para generar procesos reflexivos y pedagógicos en niños, niñas y adolescentes . El lema del proyecto ‘Desde tus ojos, con tu
...
voz’ plantea que a través del registro audiovisual propio, la ciudadanía, especialmente los niños, niñas y adolescentes de pueblos indígenas u originarios y población afroperuana puedan utilizar este medio para expresar su mirada, para comunicar su voz. El énfasis del proyecto está en reconocer la importancia que tienen la experiencia y subjetividad de las personas y colectividades que portan la cámara y que representan el mundo desde sus culturas. Así, el proceso audiovisual participativo puede aportar en la construcción de un ciudadano que desde su pensamiento crítico hace pleno ejercicio de su derecho a la comunicación. Al examinar esta posibilidad, debemos entender que los contenidos audiovisuales resultantes no son neutrales, siempre tienen un rol en la formación ciudadana. Es por eso que presentamos las lecciones audiovisuales para ciudadanos y ciudadanas interculturales, a partir de una selección de vídeos participativos y documentales que expresan la mirada y la voz de distintas comunidades afroperuanas, andinas y amazónicas de nuestro Perú. Proponemos estos materiales como disparadores de una reflexión y un trabajo que acerquen a nuestros estudiantes a la comprensión del nosotros peruano." (Presentación, página 4)
more