The summer of Media Literacy Education

Just as AI experts have called the period in which data scarcity prevented the development of that technology “the winter of artificial intelligence,” it seems right to say that two events during the summer in the northern hemisphere will be marked as “the summer of media literacy” due to the abundance and quality of the debates. In June, the International Media Literacy Research Symposium (IMLRS) with the support of the International Council for Media Literacy(IC4ML) brought together a large group of researchers and professionals in the Azores archipelago, Portugal. In July, The Digital Communication Network (DCN) invited experts for a few days of debate in Helsinki, Finland, using that country as a model for public policies in the area.

Both highlighted important issues to be followed in the coming years by the global community. The year 2024 will not be forgotten by those who research, teach or are connected to the themes of education and communication, and their intersections. On the contrary, the conferences that followed both conferences have already resonated with the impacts of the debate of the “summer of media literacy education.”

I selected five points that caught my attention the most as someone who followed both conferences, which continue to pave the way for research and point to possible solutions:

AI and Ethics. The ethical impacts of the field of artificial intelligence, especially when considered a new mediation, have so far led to the emergence of public policies, but these are far from a consensus. Due to the speed of development and the scope of the impacts, regulating the use of artificial intelligence has placed the United States and Europe in different strategic fields, but without any results considered satisfactory. In a year with record-breaking elections worldwide, deepfakes took over the debates.

Lifelong Learning. While the inclusion of Media Literacy in school curricula seems to have reached a level of unanimity, practices related to lifelong learning in media literacy have not yet emerged as a critical factor. If algorithms will be the mentors of online learning, there is a lack of models of governance of artificial intelligence in education and research on the use of creativity to learn media literacy outside of school. Digital and board games seem to be the most researched and discussed examples. Also, the role of digital influencers as co-responsible for the integrity and veracity of the information they share was underlined.

Ecomedia. Environmental issues emerge explicitly and the connections of their solutions with a transparent and resilient communication ecosystem have become evident as a permanent issue to be considered when we talk about media literacy.

Public Policies. There is no ideal model of public policy to be pursued and there is great complexity in its implementation. European and Latin American countries seek different solutions and present a history of victories and defeats. Those states of the United States of America (USA) that have approved laws are involved in debates about how to proceed with them. There are advances in global legislation, with much inequality, but there is still a long way to go before media literacy reaches those who need it with quality.

Integrity of information. The concept, which has its origins in the debates of the United Nations (including the ongoing G20) and the Organization for the Cooperation of American States (OECD), has gained ground in media education as a way of seeing the totality of the impacts of disinformation. It emerges as one of the objectives of media literacy with regard to public policies that combat misinformation, especially during election periods.