This interview is part of the ”Digital Media Literacy in EDMO Round Table’‘ interview series that is published every month to highlight the work of the 14 EDMO hubs.
CEDMO, Central European Digital Media Observatory (Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland)
Anita Kwiatkowska and Aleksandra Wójtowicz, NASK, Poland.
Can you give us an update on your media literacy activities since our last interview?
NASK: The new edition of the CEDMO project has recently started. Individual partners have planned various activities in the field of media literacy, which they consider to be crucial for the fight against disinformation in Central and Eastern Europe. The media education events will contribute to raising awareness of the phenomenon of disinformation among the most vulnerable audiences.However, another project focusing on media education and counteracting disinformation is also underway at NASK. The project “Make it clear – educating young people against disinformation online” is implemented by the consortium that consists of NASK (Plamd), Latvian Internet Association (Latvijas Interneta Asociacija) and Save the Children Romania (Organizatia Salvati Copiii). The aim of the project is to develop young people’s information literacy, as well as an informed and critical approach to content shared in the media, particularly social media. It is aimed at young people aged 11-17, teachers and people working with children, as well as parents. To this aim, we carried out activities for young people such as creating e-learning courses, webinars or a board game. We also did not forget another target group that works most frequently with young people and is a key element that promotes our materials in their lessons, which is teachers. For them, as part of the project, we organised a conference, a podcast and a guide “Learning Menu” was designed. Educational material can be found on our website (https://makeitclear.edu.pl/) in the Educational Material section, while information on events held can be found in the Events section. All tools were developed in 5 language versions (Polish, English, Latvian, Romanian, Ukrainian).
What exactly is planned as part of CEDMO 2.0?
NASK: There are many great ideas, and each of them is equally necessary. Charles University will create regular podcasts, SWPS will focus mainly on workshops for medical specialists and PR specialists. Seesame, NASK and Demagogues (from Poland, Slovakia, and Czechia) will design campaigns and workshops suitable to the needs of their country. AFP will prepare educational tutorials about the basics of digital investigation and a series of modules to train media professionals in digital investigations and state-of-the-art techniques. With GLOBSEC and other partners, we also prepare guides on, among others, electoral disinformation and climate disinformation. And this is just the beginning of our plans!
How do you define what constitutes an effective media literacy initiative in your context?
NASK: Effective media literacy initiative accurately targets a certain group – understanding the context in which they operate as well as their specific challenges and needs. Media education at the most basic level of introduction to the disinformation issues (terminology, disinformants, their potential targets etc.) is of course incredibly important to society. However the key to effective outreach is developing the mental tools to understand the complexity of the problem and the ability to continually adapt skills to new techniques and methods of disinformation.
Which group do you target most often with your media literacy initiatives? (e.g. teachers, librarians, journalists, youth workers, young people, older people) What is the motivation for targeting these groups, and how do you reach them?
NASK: Initiatives to counteract disinformation at NASK are usually directed at children, school youth, and teachers. We believe that teaching media literacy at the school level is crucial for the future of public debate in Poland. Both young people and teachers show great willingness to expand their skills and knowledge in the online environment in which they spend their daily lives. Reaching these groups is not a problem, the problem is to provide knowledge and skills with long-term effects and the widest possible reach, even to those educational institutions in small towns and villages. In addition, we also train public institutions, journalists, uniformed services, and seniors. However, the needs of these groups are fundamentally different. Targeting the most up-to-date content, content that can help them with their current challenges at a given moment, is essential.
Is there potential for collaboration with those outside civil society in your country/ies? For example, with policymakers, regulatory authorities or the tech industry. If so, what form does such collaboration take?
NASK: Yes. There are numerous examples of such cooperation in Poland; NASK is actually one such example, being a public institution that collaborates closely with both civil society, as well as the policymakers and the tech industry. Two examples of such collaboration are the Safe Elections project (conducted together with, amongst all, Google and TikTok), as well as the Code of Best Practice in regard to disinformation that was co-signed by numerous civil society organisations in Poland.
Where do you think the best opportunities lie for you going forward in promoting media literacy and tackling disinformation in your country/ies?
NASK: The fight against disinformation is not equal. The multitude of disinformation actors, topics and techniques means that all entities are needed – authorities, NGOs, public institutions, public services etc. There is a need to both take care of the future of public debate by providing media literacy in schools and also conduct ongoing fact-checking work that allows for the detection of current topics and techniques and training in the professions that need it most at a given moment. At the moment, we see a need for training in the field of medical disinformation (anti-vaccine movement, “alternative medicine” etc.) and such in the context of social polarization (especially towards immigrants, refugees from Ukraine, and the LGBTQI+ community). It seems that these are the most urgent needs for Polish society at the moment. However, development in media literacy is needed in many groups at once, there is a lot to do and it is difficult to predict which profession will need the most support against disinformation.
