Better Internet for Kids

What is the campaign about?

The main objective of this campaign is to test out an approach developed for the European Commission by the Media and Learning Association (MLA) and EUN for running a Europe-wide media literacy awareness-raising campaign in collaboration with the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs). Such a media literacy campaign needs to build on the networking resources available in the SICs and, at the same time, maximise the efforts and activities of other stakeholders involved in supporting practices, developing policy and carrying out research into media literacy including NGOs, government agencies and industry. 

We do not aim to replace or compete against any existing media literacy campaign per se, but we aim to position ourselves as a BIK+ media literacy campaign in collaboration with the Insafe network, while showing we have a good understanding of the wider landscape and existing initiative, as to build synergies and opportunities for collaboration whenever possible.

In order to do so, we are firstly aiming to pilot test this campaign in a restricted number of European countries (Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland) for five weeks, and then gradually scale the campaign at a EU-wide level, to be fully rolled-out starting from 2024. Other relevant actors will be encouraged to support and promote the campaign, harnessing existing national and European multipliers such as schools, civil society organisations, and industry. Children and young people, and where appropriate parents, caregivers and teachers, will be consulted as part of the scoping exercise to ensure that the resulting campaign(s) deliver age-appropriate messages, and facilitate cross-generational and cross-sectoral exchanges on the creative, critical and responsible use of digital technologies.

Why is it needed?

Empowering children with the skills and knowledge they need when they go online is a key priority of the BIK+ strategy, Pillar 2. In the strategy, the European Commission proposes actions to improve the educational opportunities and the media literacy of children and young people to support Pillar 2, allowing them to become more critical users of online content and services. Dedicated campaigns should be specifically designed to raise awareness of key issues such as disinformation and misinformation, and generally to enhance media literacy skills among children and young people, while also better upskilling those that support them (such as parents, caregivers and teachers). 

To give some background and context to these plans, it is useful to reflect on the current state of play of the EU media literacy campaigning landscape, which is characterised by a wide variety of different players and activities, some based on very local, small-scale initiatives while others represent significant ongoing efforts on the part of governments and other agencies. This landscape also reflects the various positions and understanding that people have of the very term ‘media literacy’ and the fact that those active in the field have often operated in different ‘silos’ related to their specific interests. This lack of a common approach to promoting media literacy stems largely from a very mixed view of what constitutes media literacy. The ongoing debate about defining media literacy also points to a discussion as to who exactly is responsible for raising the level of media literacy across society, one that is becoming increasingly critical as we face the ever-rising tide of disinformation.

In addition to the aforementioned, the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade states that “Children and young people should be empowered to make safe and informed choices and express their creativity in the digital environment”. Pillar 2 of the BIK+ strategy embodies this objective and commits to “providing opportunities to all children and young people to acquire the necessary skills and competences, including media literacy and critical thinking, in order to navigate and engage in the digital environment actively, safely and to make informed choices”. 

Digital empowerment has long been recognised to be one of the most effective ways to support children and young people in their digital activities. Protection on its own is not sufficient to guarantee children gain the benefits from the digital environment and, indeed, prioritising safety and protection over and above participation restricts children from making best use of the many opportunities the digital world offers. 

Notably, a lack of awareness of children’s rights was apparent among many stakeholder groups pointing to the need for more sustained awareness raising on this topic. BIK+ indicates that it will support large-scale media literacy campaigns drawing on the range of resources and initiatives at Commission level, including the work of SICs to impart digital skills on an inclusive basis and with “careful attention to children with special or specific needs, or from disadvantaged and vulnerable backgrounds".

Phase I: mapping the current EU landscape of media literacy initiatives (September 2023 - February 2024)

As mentioned, media literacy in Europe is characterised by being a rather diverse and somewhat fragmented area of interest with a wide variety of different players involved ranging from supra-national agencies to national and regional policymakers, NGOs, educational providers and media and industry players. When it comes to actual initiatives, these generally fall into one of the following categories: projects, actions, programmes and campaigns, varying in terms of the type of intervention that is proposed, the scale and target of those for whom it is intended, and the duration and goal. A lack of a common understanding and agreement as to what constitutes media literacy and the extent to which it is synonymous with media education, information and digital literacy, adds further complexity. Interest in media literacy is on the rise, largely as a direct result of our increasing concern with the fight against disinformation which, many argue, is posing a direct threat to our democratic way of life.

Between September and December 2023, Better Internet for Kids conducted a mapping exercise with the aim to identify as many as possible media literacy initiatives, resources or tools all around Europe and beyond. The Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres (SIC) was consulted to help map the current EU media literacy landscape and collect suggestions on priorities for an EU-wide media literacy campaign. More specifically, the survey asked SICs about their current media literacy actions, campaigns, and key partners, and specifically requested to evaluate the current status of media literacy education within the Safer Internet Centre’s work programme. In addition, the Media and Learning Association collected a vast selection of current media literacy activities and actions in Europe, by summarising current important activities, key organisations and driving factors. 

Learn more about the mapping of the media literacy initiatives, landscape and industry in the context of Better Internet for Kids here.

Phase II: the pilot phase (January - April 2024)

A pilot phase of the MediaSmartOnline campaign launched on 8 March 2024, and ran until 17 April 2024. The pilot campaign was scoped and delivered first in three countries (Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland), whose SICs agreed to support and cooperate in testing this approach. Campaigning materials were designed within the frame of the pilot aimed to deliver some of the key messaging around four focus topics within the field of media literacy – Artificial Intelligence (AI), virtual worlds and immersive realities, mis- and disinformation, online hate speech – and to spotlight media literacy actions and initiatives in the three pilot countries.

The MediaSmartOnline pilot campaign has shown encouraging success indicators across various metrics, highlighting significant engagement and reach among its target audience – children and young people, parents and caregivers, teachers and educators. Notably, dissemination efforts were collectively spread across various stakeholders, including BIK, MLA and the SICs of the pilot countries. Collectively, it has reached millions of users across various communications channels: social media (LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram), various blog posts and articles, original YouTube video content created specifically for this campaign, and several newsletters. 

Following the pilot phase, various feedback was collected from the Safer Internet Centres involved in the pilot campaign, and it can be summarised as follows:

• The main point raised concerned the need to seek synergies and opportunities for collaboration among all stakeholders involved. The campaigning materials for the full roll-out should be developed in co-creation, as a collective effort, with the participation of all countries involved.
• Timeline: all pilot countries agreed that the chosen timeframe wasn’t ideal, as it was an already-packed period with other ongoing national campaigns and commitments. Most would have preferred to conduct the campaign later in the year, but equally understood that this year is particularly sensitive with the European elections.
• Campaigning materials: while the mapping exercise was highly appreciated, it was noted that it should be expanded, as it is still missing certain areas of Europe and/or specific lines of activities at the national level. This further evidences the finding that the EU media literacy landscape is highly fragmented. In addition, the information should be disseminated in a format that is easy to read and access, and that allows quick location and use of pertinent information.
• The approach of rotating between different focused topics was preferred over referring to “media literacy” generally as it’s considered too broad a term, making it harder for the general public to associate with and engage with. In addition, it was noted that messages containing tips and practical advice were especially well-received by the audience, and that further messaging should continue in this direction.
• Language: while English worked quite well as a common language and should be kept in terms of general brand identity (logos, hashtags, etc.), some of the messaging and other campaigning materials should be translated to allow for a more targeted effort in each country involved.

Overall, however, the pilot campaign has demonstrated that it has a strong foundation and has shown successful performance results both in terms of website and social media activities, demonstrating significant engagement and confirming
interest in the subject matter. 

Phase III: the Media Literacy Campaign Working Group (June 2024 - ongoing)

The preliminary results and next steps of the campaign were additionally discussed during the latest Insafe Steering Committee meeting in April 2024, and an agreement was reached to set up a short-term Media Literacy Campaign Working Group (MLC-WG) to contribute to the concept, creation, planning and delivery of the full roll-out of the campaign over the coming months.

The Working Group has met several times between June and September 2024. It currently includes representatives of 10 different
Safer Internet Centres: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia (pilot country), France, Greece, Ireland (pilot country), Italy, Malta, Poland (pilot country). The objective of the MLC-WG is to brainstorm, advise on how to improve the materials and strategy, and co-create campaigning materials in sight of the EU-wide campaign to be run annually, progressively building on its previous editions and expanding over time. The agenda and discussion topics for the MLC-WG meetings were decided beforehand, and included discussing the timeline and main content of the first full roll-out of the campaign. For every discussion point, WG members were provided with a list of possible options/scenarios ahead of each meeting to allow for preliminary reflection on each agenda item. The meetings then served as an opportunity to discuss each agenda item in detail and reach an agreement among all WG members, taking into consideration each SIC’s national priorities, calendar, and needs. Finally, the campaign has also been consulted with the media literacy experts from the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) to draw on the media literacy best practices identified by EDMO and ensure complementarity with its activities.

Phase IV: the first full roll-out (October - November 2024)

The main output of the MLC-WG meetings over summer 2024 was the campaign plan for the first full roll-out of MediaSmartOnline. 

The first full roll-out will start on 24 October (the first day of the Global Media and Information Literacy Week) each year, to run for approximately one month and end on Safer Internet Forum (for 2024, on 21 November). For future editions of the campaign, we note that Safer Internet Forum dates may change significantly from year to year – if that is the case, the campaign will typically run for one calendar month.

The WG members also proposed for this campaign to have a similar structure to the Safer Internet Day campaign: a long-term campaign that is progressive and involves continued effort which builds on its foundations and expands its scope each year, ensuring that its brand and visual identity become more established over time. This also implies that the support and involvement of SICs can vary over time, depending on national priorities, resources available to be allocated for this line of work, and other external factors. For example, some of the pilot countries have already invested quite heavily this year and might take a lighter approach for the full roll-out, before contributing more fully again in 2025.

Please note that the MCL-WG suggested that, in a similar way to how the Safer Internet Day campaign is organised and rolled out, there shouldn’t be a too-detailed/directed content breakdown for the Safer Internet Centres involved, and that localisation should be encouraged as much as possible. While there is an overarching theme and objective to the campaign, each SIC might have a different sensitivity when it comes to the following factors:

• As media literacy is a very broad term, narrowing the term down to identify key areas of focus. During the pilot campaign, we identified four main focus topics: AI, virtual worlds and immersive realities, mis- and disinformation, and online hate speech.
• Identifying key issues and concerns that are relevant at the national level based on national agenda, priorities and concerns. For example, while AI might be a relevant topic for all centres across Europe, virtual worlds might not rally an equally strong reaction at the current time.
• Lastly, as our aim is not to overlap or compete against ongoing campaigning activities but rather to give visibility to current actions, we believe it is important to factor in that a number of media literacy campaigns/events/weeks of focused activities might be running across the network simultaneously, and some kind of overlap is probably inevitable.

How to get involved?

Is there a particular media literacy initiative that you would like to be featured in the campaign? Do not hesitate to contact us at content@betterinternetforkids.eu or annarita.silverii@eun.org. 

If you would like to follow the campaigning activities, keep an eye on #MediaSmartOnline on social media, and make sure to follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Don’t miss out on the publication of the MediaSmartOnline campaign materials: check this page regularly and follow the #MediaSmartOnline hashtag to see the campaign roll out on social media.