EARLALL Academy on Media and Information Literacy: from the EU to regional level
14/09/2023
On September 14 2023, the EARLALL Academy launched its third session on the topic of Media and Information Literacy. The session was lead by Kenny Dos Santos, a young Swedish entrepreneur, student and founder of MIK Biblioteket.
The online session focused on explaining what Media and Information Literacy (MIL) was, in addition to the efforts that the European Union, Sweden and the region of Västra Götaland are undertaking in this innovative field.
Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is a set of competencies and skills that enable individuals to access, evaluate, understand, and effectively use various forms of media and information in both traditional and digital formats. MIL is essential in today’s information-rich and technologically advanced society where we are constantly bombarded with information from various sources. One of the key components of MIL is about active citizenship and access to society, as it relates to the ideas of being a part of a wider digital society and being able to understand media and the world around us.
Kenny highlighted that media and information literacy is everybody’s responsibility, and it needs to be approached from a lifelong learning perspective, as it is in constant evolution. For example, the latest trends of MIL discuss how to be able to manipulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) to your advantage and being aware of deep fakes online.
Within the European Commission, the Media literacy expert group identifies, documents and spreads good practices in the field of media literacy, in addition to organising the annual European Media Literacy Week. Moreover at a national level, Sweden for example has a Swedish Media Council which seeks to coordinate MIL actions with other national levels. However, Kenny highlights that it is at the regional level in the case of Västra Götaland that efforts to increase awareness and use of MIL as a teaching tool are most effective. The region is at the forefront of MIL in Sweden, by organising a MIL week and funding initiatives related to it, including a youth debate last year on the subject, moderated by Kenny Dos Santos.
You can access the free online library resources with MIL lesson plans (MIK Bibloteket) here.
