To build the foundations of the campaigning activities, an analysis was carried out to provide a preliminary mapping of media literacy activities and actions in Europe, by summarising current important activities, key organisations and driving factors.
Discover more about the campaign objectives, background and timeline.
What is MediaSmartOnline?
In 2024, European Schoolnet (EUN) (on behalf of the European Commission), in collaboration with the Media and Learning Association (MLA) tested out an approach 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 built on the networking resources available in the SICs and, at the same time, maximised the efforts and activities of other stakeholders involved in supporting practices. MediaSmartOnline did not aim to replace or compete against existing media literacy campaigns, but to highlighting existing valuable resources and materials, as well as to build synergies and opportunities for collaboration whenever possible.
Learn more about the background of the campaign here.
Campaign timeline
MediaSmartOnline first had a piloting phase conducted between March and 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.
The full roll-out was conducted between October and December 2024.
Main campaign outputs
"Let's hear it from the youth!" series
But as Better Internet for Kids, hearing the voices and opinions of young people is essential for any topic of discussion, including media literacy. We discussed with a group of young people about their perspectives of media literacy, their concerns and wishes looking ahead, and how they feel about particular media literacy-related topics such as AI, fake news, and online hate speech. So, let's hear it from the youth!
Background
The MediaSmartOnline campaign rann in 2024 in cooperation with the network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs) within the framework of the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) initiative
Resources
Find below some of the most relevant pieces of recent EU legislation or policy on the topic of media literacy.
EU Strategy for a Better Internet for Kids (BIK+)
European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade
2022 Code of Practice on Disinformation
Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD)
Media literacy expect group (MLEG)
More about media literacy initiatives on the European Commission's website
Explore a range of focus topics
