by Laurie Day, Ecorys, UK.
A growing awareness of the risks presented by misinformation and the rise of Generative AI have combined to fuel public and professional interest in media literacy. This spotlight on the media sector presents both challenges and opportunities. A new study published this week explores how European countries are responding, and presents recommendations for action.
Media literacy in a fast evolving ecosystem
There is no doubt that media literacy is riding high on the policy agenda, with additional EU funding for programmatic work and thriving communities of practice. The recent publication of the EDMO Guidelines for Effective Media Literacy Initiatives provides an important milestone, bringing diverse stakeholders together to achieve consensus on what good quality and inclusive media literacy initiatives can and should look like in a European context.
At the same time, the sector faces thorny issues that have yet to be resolved: how to move beyond initiatives focussed on individual media competences to address structural and societal factors mediating collective media behaviours; how to engage and meet the needs of underserved populations, and how to build effective and sustainable cross-sectoral approaches towards media literacy, while navigating a complex regulatory landscape.
Situating the research
Published this week, the final reports from an EU Media Literacy Policy Study explore these issues in further depth and provide a snapshot of policies and practices on media literacy in eight European countries. The research was designed and carried out by Ecorys with expert advice from the LSE Department of Media and Communications and funded by Google.
The study aimed to provide:
- An overview of the state-of-the-sector for media literacy policies and practices in Europe.
- An assessment of the implications of emerging technologies, including Generative AI, for tackling misinformation and developing critical thinking skills.
- Recommendations to inform the evolving agenda for collaboration on media literacy across industry, public sector and civil society in Europe.
The work took place between September 2023 and July 2024, and was based on a mixed methods design, combining primary and secondary data collection and analysis with deliberative stakeholder workshops conduced with key stakeholders across Europe.
Cross-sectoral approaches in action
The findings reflect the scale and complexity of the challenges presented for citizens to develop and maintain critical thinking skills across the life course, and the positioning of media literacy education within school curricula specifically. The reports showcase what has been done in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, and the United Kingdom (UK), providing policy and practice insights, and highlighting examples of promising practices.
The research also turns the spotlight on platform-based media literacy initiatives, providing a learning review of Google’s media literacy work in Europe. It highlights the essential role of funding for organisations leveraging media literacy at a national and local level, and the importance of building civil society capacity to respond to emerging media literacy priorities; investing in AI literacy and making effective use of in-product fact checking tools.
The study calls for investment in broad-based media literacy strategies that serve the needs of Europe’s diverse citizens, for a reprioritisation of media literacy within lifelong learning policies, and smarter and more consistent approaches to define and evidence the outcomes from pilot programmes and initiatives.
It also challenges Google and other tech companies to go beyond the EU Code of Practice, taking further action on algorithmic transparency and widening access to data from very large online platforms (VLOPs) for academic research as part of an ecosystem-wide approach.
Further information
The study outputs, including the EU mapping and case study report, the review of Google’s media literacy programmes in Europe, and a set of policy briefs, are available at:
https://www.ecorys.com/MediaLiteracyEducation
The study team will be hosting a webinar to share the learning from the reports: Putting media literacy on the map: directions for Europe, which is taking place on Thursday 16th January 2025, from 14:00-15:00 CET. pre-register at the link below to express your interest:
https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/ba16a15d-c64b-8f08-0f27-32060281272b
Author
Laurie is a Research Director at social policy consultancy Ecorys. He has 25 years’ experience of conducting studies and evaluations for local and national government, European and International Agencies, and civil society organisations. His work has a strong focus on children and young people’s digital lives, participatory research and practice. Laurie is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield (UK).
