Media literacy
We know the development of good media literacy skills is not achieved by one campaign.
As we explain in our Understanding Media page, we focus on competencies and skills developed in our Media Literacy Policy. For example, you may be aware of a particular scam, or be up to date with a new app, but then things change, new technology or apps are developed, new scams appear and you might find you need to learn all over again. This is why we say that media literacy is a life-long learning journey.
As the media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán has a statutory obligation to undertake, encourage and foster research and activities that promote and endorse media literacy. We also know that we can’t do this alone and there are many stakeholders involved in the pursuit of media literacy development, both at home and abroad. At home in Ireland, we fund and facilitate Media Literacy Ireland, an independent alliance of Irish stakeholders interested in promoting media literacy. Through this facilitation, we promote initiatives, campaigns, training and knowledge sharing about media literacy.
On an international level, we work closely with other regulators and media literacy practitioners in Europe on various initiatives to do with media literacy. We learn from each other (what works or what doesn’t), we support each other, and we devise common frameworks so we can all do our respective jobs effectively.
International engagement
We hold leading positions on various international fora, such as:
- European Regulators Group for AudioVisual Media (ERGA), an EU advisory group,
- European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA), and particularly,
- EPRA’s Media and Information Literacy Taskforce (EMIL).
EMIL is a working group that gathers both regulators and media literacy agencies and practitioners with the purpose of:
- Promoting and supporting the creation and functioning of media literacy networks throughout Europe by bringing together key actors of these networks, and providing an independent and transparent forum for them to share relevant information, best practice, experience and expertise.
- Raising the public profile of media literacy networks and helping to share the best practice and experience from these networks with a wider audience of stakeholders.
- Sharing knowledge, best practices and experiences on media literacy activities and initiatives in general, including trying to avoid duplication of efforts between various coordination groups.
We have contributed to many conferences and keynote speeches with regards to media literacy and we work collaboratively with relevant key stakeholders.