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.
NORDIS, Monitoring Disinformation in Northern Europe (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
Authors: Mikko Salo, NORDIS (Faktabaari) & Marte Foldvik-Høgås, NORDIS (Tenk/Faktisk)
Can you give us an update on your media literacy activities since our last interview?
Since June 2023 NORDIS update our joint NORDIS media education activities have gone through a pragmatic internal evaluation. Consequently, we have refocused our work somewhat in NORDIS 2.0. Our joint NORDIS focus is now on generative AI and algorithms while we try to benchmark for the rest of the Digital information literacy (DIL) themes. Headstart for NORDIS 2.0 was the EDMO EU-election campaign, after we also renewed our website as a portal to joint and national literacy activities.
This past January, NORDIS DIL Forum brought us together in Helsinki with many EDMO colleagues online for an event about AI, Media Literacy & Ethics, the NORDIS DIL Forum.
At the Forum, Kari Kivinen presented the new DIL guide – AI Guide for Teachers – gathering some of the best practices from experts on AI at schools. We also heard about the role of technology companies in Nordic MIL and Norwegian and Australian best practices next to important networking. See recording.
The development was in line with the Nordic Council’s think tank recommendations to which NORDIS contributed in 2023 and used as a reference to NORDIS 2.0. Literacy work built on the NORDIS first phase DIL guide. In NORDIS 2.0 we now share the chairmanship of the literacy part between Finnish Faktabaari and Norwegian Tänk (Faktisk) – among the most media education focused partners within NORDIS.
What more is planned as part of NORDIS 2.0?
Within the AI field we now coordinate our joint efforts based on the new Faktabaari DIL AI Guide for Teachers – also available in English (international edition) and soon in Swedish (translation from Finnish).
Further joint campaigning is also planned building on Tenk (NO) and Tjekdet (DK) AI materials and Källkritiksbyrån (SE) forthcoming 13th March “Källkritikensdag” (source critism day). The focus will be on digital literacies including AI as a natural part, and with a natural link to fact-checker’s joint “stop, think, check” – roots. Follow #Källkritikensdag and NORDIS-website for links to events.
We also look for a follow-up to the EDMO-level campaign after contributing to “Be election smart” within our resources.
This said, the four NORDIS fact-checking organisations’ primary impact comes via our national-level literacy campaigns. The EDMO activities serve as an important benchmark while we aim to follow the AI literacy best practices in the US for preventive, critical but curious approaches to AI. You are welcome to hear more from the AI Guide for Teachers from Dr. Kari Kivinen on 14th of March EDMO Online Training on Critical AI Literacy
How do you define what constitutes an effective media literacy initiative in your context?
NORDIS endorses the EDMO guidelines for effective media literacy initiatives.
However, the resources to implement them within our joint NORDIS DIL activities and campaigns are currently insufficient as we cover four countries and languages.
The effectiveness of our joint NORDIS DIL activities has been ensured by focusing on the ethical and critical use of generative AI tools. We believe that it is efficient to empower teachers to exchange with students about ethical use of AI, while at the same time providing students with some hands on input to stimulate their curiosity and critical thinking e.g. in respect to their capacity to evaluate the authenticity of online images.
This approach best serves our strategy of catalysing larger organisations to address challenges where fact-checking organisations have particular added value – i.e. in evaluating the reliability of the information and sources. We believe EDMO’s guidelines can better be implemented for bigger and centrally coordinated campaigns – such as the EDMO campaign prior to the EU elections.
Which groups 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?
NORDIS literacy activities are mainly carried out by four independent fact-checking organisations. Accordingly, the target audiences and impact are through their networks and audiences.
However, in the joint NORDIS 2 focus on generative AI, we tend to focus specifically on teachers as key multipliers with a shared interest in promoting an ethically sustainable and curious approach to transformative technology. This said several other target groups from librarians to school administrators and parents have found our efforts useful.
Teachers are reached both digitally and through real meetings. The AI Guide for Teachers is being disseminated in three languages via Faktabaari and NORDIS digital channels during the entire spring, while more practical teaching materials will follow. Tenk and TjekDet have published learning packages that include a variety of resources, designed to effectively engage young people and to be easily adopted by teachers.
In addition, NORDIS partners have good experience both with large teacher fairs and briefings for school administrations next to working directly with teachers. Our activities are fundamentally to support teachers who are in contact with the youth we are most concerned about.
We are also working with libraries and like-minded media houses who understand the need to invest in their future user base. In Norway, Tenk has developed digital courses for librarians, with generative AI as one of the key topics. This enables librarians to provide their users with knowledge about generative AI.
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?
The impact of efficient information literacy work on new developments like AI requires good cooperation especially with educational policymakers so that they can update the idea of media welfare societies. In the best case, agile actors can catalyse the process at national or even international level. For example, Faktabaari’s AI Guide for Teachers is well in line with the forthcoming official Finnish AI guidelines for teachers thanks to active exchange and bringing in experiences also from, for example, various European expert networks.
While the national level of administration has the competences in education, the EU level brings valuable knowledge and frameworks especially towards cooperating with technology giants to ensure our digital rights and agency as AI is developing fast. Dependency on technology companies in Education should be avoided at all costs. The EU regulations define AI in education as a high-risk sector. For AI to be the empowering tool we need to ensure independent AI literacy.
We believe in collaborating on specific projects such as developing learning materials, contributing to research initiatives both domestically and internationally, contributing to government reports and conferences.
Where do you think the best opportunities lie for you going forward in promoting media literacy and tackling disinformation in your country/ies?
That’s a good question that we try to find answers both on a national and regional basis. Overall Nordic countries have relatively strong roots and traditions in media education, both in policy and practical innovations. The schools have been entrusted with the biggest role, but it is important to not only focus on one arena. We also see literacy work by the public service media and many civil society organizations. Few have, however, addressed digital, and AI developments as rapidly as we at NORDIS. We will aim at being catalysts in this realm so that larger stakeholders, government and ethical media houses, including public broadcasters, will use and develop our ideas, activities, and materials further. Complementary regional and European cooperation is necessary – hence NORDIS and EDMO.
