In this workshop, we will share our experience, in the UK, of developing a national coordination body to advocate for media and information literacy (MIL), encourage capacity-building and help to build the MIL evidence base. We would like to compare our approach with similar or related initiatives in other countries and to use the workshop as to discuss with participants the ways of building awareness, across society, of MIL as an indispensable contribution to lifelong learning, citizenship, health and everyday life. The workshop will address lessons learnt from the UK and from participants’ own countries. It should point to ideas about how best to generate interest in MIL among diverse stakeholders (within and beyond the information professions) and, ultimately, contribute to the elaboration of public policy and practice, including educational practice.
The workshop will draw from the work undertaken by the UK’s Media and Information Literacy Alliance (MILA). This was set up in October 2021, following the publication of the UK Government’s Online Media Literacy Strategy (Online Media Literacy Strategy, 2021), which covers both media literacy and information literacy. One of the challenges identified in the Strategy is the lack of cross-sector coordination and collaboration between the wide range of stakeholders in the UK. MILA seeks to address this, in the first instance by generating a dialogue with a multiplicity of players. These include, for instance, Ofcom (the UK’s media regulator), Health Education England, the Association for Citizenship Teaching, Wikimedia UK, The Royal Society of Arts, as well as individuals and organisations representing higher education, public libraries, school libraries and policymakers.
The workshop will discuss the dynamics of building a national MIL initiative from scratch, and participants will be asked to cover questions such as:
• What are the approaches to persuading stakeholders (public, commercial and third-sector) of the relevance and importance of MIL?
• What are the most effective mechanisms and strategies for developing a network or alliance?
• What are the concrete activities that a national MIL might best undertake (e.g. undertaking research, building communities of practice, advocacy, etc.)?
• In a context where MIL is often seen as a protectionist measure against threats such as disinformation, how can stakeholders and society also be made aware of the empowering potential of MIL?
• How might such initiatives be resourced (money, people), in environments where funding is not always easily available?
The extent and scale of national MIL policies and practices, particularly in the educational world, varies from country to country (Frau-Meigs, et al., 2017). It is almost 10 years since UNESCO issued their Media and information literacy policy and strategy guidelines (2013), so we would like to discuss what impact these might have had around the world. The workshop will enable participants to consider good practice internationally, to compare experiences and to provide insights into what collaborative interventions are effective to help foster national MIL policies. The facilitators will use world cafe style discussions to capture outputs from the workshop and share these with delegates after the session. Participants will work in groups, each of which will cover the questions outlined above, drawing from their own national/international experiences, and focusing on the steps and mechanics for building a national alliance and the ways of developing and maintaining momentum.
References
Frau-Meigs, et al. (2017). Public policies in media and information literacy in Europe. Routledge.
Media and Information Literacy Alliance. Retrieved June 14, 2023, from https://www.mila.org.uk
UK Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. (2021). Online media literacy strategy. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-media-literacy-strategy
UNESCO. (2013). Media and information literacy: Policy and strategy guidelines. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000225606
