The Guidelines have been developed by EDMO’s Working Group on Media Literacy Standards and Best Practices, with input from EDMO’s 14 national and cross-national hubs, along with over 100 practitioners and experts across more than 50 countries.
Media literacy initiatives are central to increasing societal resilience against disinformation. The Guidelines aim at helping make media literacy initiatives across Europe more effective by implementing best practices at different stages in the development, delivery and review of projects.
The Guidelines have already been endorsed by 60+ organisations, including academic institutions, regulatory agencies, fact-checking and media literacy organisations, as well as other civil society organisations.
Who are the Guidelines for and how can they be used?
The Guidelines have been designed for use by anyone involved in the development of media literacy initiatives, including civil society, educators, policy makers, and those in the media or tech industries. In an area as complex and diverse as media literacy, there can be no one-size-fits-all approach. Media literacy initiatives vary considerably in scope, size, duration and focus. As a result, not all recommendations included the Guidelines will be relevant to all projects. It is up to each actor to select the most appropriate advice for their initiative(s).
The Guidelines can serve to help enhance the effectiveness of all kinds of media literacy initiatives. Such initiatives may focus, among others, on:
- mis- and disinformation, supporting the development of critical thinking skills to better detect and counter false or misleading content;
- news literacy, promoting the value of independent journalism in the media ecosystem;
- wider digital literacy, explaining how digital media operate and how to use them;
- algo-literacy, helping individuals understand the role of algorithms in our media consumption.
What are the main principles contained in the Guidelines?
The Guidelines are intended to be helpful in raising issues for consideration, based on the experiences of prior media literacy initiatives. The Guidelines are grouped around 12 principles covering 3 different stages of media literacy projects: development, delivery and review.
Development
A good media literacy initiative:
-
has clearly defined goals and principles;
-
is empowering;
-
promotes critical understanding of the media ecosystem;
-
consultative and relevant;
-
takes an evidence-based approach;
-
is inclusive;
-
is ethical and accessible.
Delivery
A good media literacy initiative:
-
is transparent;
-
is prepared;
-
is adaptable;
Review
A good media literacy initiative:
- endures;
- reflects, shares and evaluates.
The full Guidelines document (currently only available in English) includes links to more detailed explanations, relevant resources, and examples of good practice.
More information: