Welcome to the MLI Monthly Update!
Have something you want to share with the membership? Tell us about it by emailing us at info@medialiteracyireland.ie. We are particularly interested in including your resources in our new resources section of the MLI website.
The content in this newsletter is a collection of media literacy related news and information from a wide range of sources and inclusion does not imply the endorsement of Media Literacy Ireland.
This Month in Media Literacy
School might be finished for the summer but there is definitely a youth focus in media literacy right now. Two of Ireland’s young creatives have brought home gold from Cannes and there are opportunities for 18–30-year-olds to participate in DCU FuJo’s Media Literacy Incubator, the Voices Festival and UNESCO’s Youth Hackathon. June also saw the publication of important reports on trust in news in Ireland and young people’s views on the challenges posed by AI. Read on for further details of these and other initiatives, events, research and developments.
Announcements
DCU FuJo seeks 18–30s for Media Literacy Incubator participants
ChangingTIDE is an EU-funded project that aims to counter disinformation by building capacity for grassroots action. As part of the project, DCU FuJo is seeking young adults (18–30 years) to join a Media Literacy Incubator on 30 July at the DCU St Pat’s Campus. Participation is free of charge. Those interested can use this online form to apply.
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Irish creatives win gold in Cannes
Congratulations to TBWA\Ireland’s Hannah Murphy and Kate Dempsey who were awarded gold in the prestigious under-30s Young Lions Competition in Cannes. Media Literacy Ireland was delighted to be the official client partner for the 2026 Irish Young Lions Competition, which took place in February and was run by Iapi, the business representative organisation for Ireland’s creative and communications sector. The 14 winners competed with international teams at Cannes, where Hannah and Kate won gold with their print campaign titled A Guide to the Signs, focusing on this year’s brief of water safety.
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Get ready for the 2026 MLI Awards
This year’s Media Literacy Ireland Awards are due to open shortly, so now is a good time to start thinking about your entry. With six categories, the aim of the awards is to recognise the great projects, activities and initiatives that are helping to empower citizens, especially within communities, with the media literacy skills to make the best use of media. The 2026 MLI Awards will open for entries on 7 July.
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New online intimate image abuse campaign launched
A new awareness campaign about intimate image abuse has been launched by Ireland’s online safety charity CyberSafeKids and Irish Internet Hotline. Supported by the Community Foundation Ireland, the It’s Not The End of the World campaign is aimed at empowering children and young people (13–17 years) to understand what intimate image abuse is and how to access support.
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National Financial Literacy Strategy Stakeholder Forum
The first National Financial Literacy Strategy Stakeholder Forum took place on 10 June 2026. It was opened by the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris and brought together 65 organisations to develop approaches to improving financial literacy across Ireland. A key strategy objective is to improve fraud and scams awareness among consumers, which includes equipping consumers with the skills and confidence they need to think critically before they click online, identify risks when navigating digital marketplaces and manage their money safely.
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Global Launch of the Family Guide for the Digital Age
This month saw the launch of the flagship Growing up in a Connected World: A Family Guide for the Digital Age. Designed to support families navigating today’s rapidly evolving digital information ecosystem, this flagship global resource from UNESCO–CLEMI was shaped by lived family experiences and informed by over 35 experts from around the globe. The guide offers evidence-based recommendations, educational expertise and concrete actionable guidance for parents, educators and policymakers.
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Share your thoughts: AI Opinion Campaign
The AI Opinion Campaign, which launched last year as part of the part of the ADAPT Centre’s #DiscussAI programme, is well under way and the response has been significant, with over 500 opinions received so far. There is still plenty of time to have your say as the campaign runs until the end of the year and the hope is to record as many opinions as possible from across Ireland.
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MinDiShield supports minority communities against online disinformation
Across Europe, misleading narratives, hate speech, conspiracy theories and extremist messaging increasingly target ethnic and religious minority communities, shaping perceptions, deepening divisions and undermining trust. In response to this urgent challenge, the new EU-funded project MinDiShield – Combating Online Minority-Related Disinformation has been launched to strengthen resilience, promote media literacy and support communities in navigating the digital information landscape safely and confidently.
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News Literacy Unplugged: Offline activities boost critical thinking in an online world
The News Literacy Project in the US is seeking to take news literacy instruction offline this summer with its ‘unplugged’ printables — a bookmark set and two foldable booklets, the Teen Safety zine and the Information Ecosystem zine. These resources are aimed at educators and families and they correspond with free interactive lessons and full-size infographics available on the Checkology® virtual classroom.
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Grants available for cross-border collaborative investigations on the impact of AI
Free Press Unlimited is inviting applications for four grants of €5,000 each to support cross-border collaborative investigations on the impact of AI. The grants are open to teams of journalists from at least two eligible European countries and support investigations into topics such as AI governance, accountability of AI companies, environmental impacts, human rights, political power structures behind AI, and the societal implications of emerging technologies. The deadline for applications is 22 July.
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Calls to the Media Literacy Community
Call for participants: UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2026
Under the theme Play Your Part: Youth Design the Future of Media and Information Literacy, the 2026 UNESCO Youth Hackathon invites young people aged 18–30 years from around the world to collaborate, innovate, and develop practical solutions to strengthen media and information literacy in their communities.
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Call for participants: Voices Festival
Voices Festival is granting 25 awards of €1,200 each to young journalists and media freedom advocates to participate in the festival’s upcoming edition. The awards have a broad focus across eight categories, recognising outstanding achievements in various journalistic formats (radio, video, digital, cartoons and comics, and photojournalism) as well as in media literacy and international best practices. The deadline for submissions is 23 August.
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Call for participants: Exposing the Invisible Investigation Residency 2026
Hosted by Tactical Tech in Berlin, the three-day Exposing the Invisible Investigation Residency invites experienced EU-based journalists, fact-checkers, researchers and investigators to gather together to enhance their skills, generate new ideas and develop collaborations. Taking place from 30 September to 2 October, the 2026 gathering will focus on three major topics affecting societies today: AI and Us, Growing Up with Tech, and Mapping the Depths of the Ocean. The deadline for applications is 5 July.
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Call for Papers: International Child and Family Conference
The Second International Child and Family Conference, organised by the University of Bristol, will take place next year, from 14 June to 16 June 2027. The conference will seek to explore how the complexities of the world shape the lives of children and their families globally, nationally and locally; inform the various strategies these groups use to navigate current challenges; and influence research and policy responses. The conference welcomes the submission of papers, panels, workshops, roundtables, and posters from a range of disciplines. The deadline for this call is 9 October.
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Research and Reports
Reuters Digital News Report (Ireland) 2026 launched
The Digital News Report Ireland 2026 was published on 16 June. The 2026 report shows that Irish people continue to trust major news brands but are losing trust in news more generally. Research for this annual report is undertaken by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford while analysis of the Irish data is provided by the DCU Institute for Future Media, Democracy and Society (FuJo) and publication is by Coimisiún na Meán.
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National Youth Council of Ireland Report on Young People and AI
On 4 June, the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), in partnership with the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) and Insight Research Centre for Data Analytics, DCU, launched Irish Young People Decode AI: Verdicts from NYCI’s Citizens’ Youth Juries. This report presents the findings of NYCI’s Citizens’ Youth Juries on AI, involving 48 young people from across Ireland. It explores young people’s views on the opportunities and risks posed by AI, including its impact on education, jobs, misinformation, online safety and the environment, and it sets out their recommendations for policymakers.
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Galway and Dublin By-election 2026 – Smears, Harassment and Threats to Election Integrity
Hope and Courage Collective last month released the fourth in its series of election snapshot reports outlining interference and smears, harassment, and threats to election integrity in the Galway and Dublin by-election campaign 2026. The report highlights the ongoing and serious risks to democratic participation and the growing normalisation of hostility and harassment online.
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Ofcom research: Adults’ and children’s experiences of online communities
This multi-stage, mixed-methods research project explores the experiences of adults and children aged 13–17 who use online communities. The research is aimed at increasing understanding of what users of online communities gain from them, where they encounter problems, and which service levers help or harm participation and wellbeing. While both adults and children perceive social benefits in participating in online communities, users also identify downsides and want meaningful control over their experience.
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Ofcom publishes statements and recommendations for the promotion of media literacy
Ofcom has published a series of recommendations for ways in which broadcasters, online platforms and streamers might develop, pursue and evaluate activities or initiatives relevant to media literacy. The ten recommendations set out a clear vision for how a broad range of services can empower the public to navigate and thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Ofcom has also published a statement setting out new measures to be included in the Illegal Content Codes of Practice and Protection of Children Codes of Practice to appropriately respond to a crisis event. This statement recommends that service providers should prepare and apply a crisis protocol to mitigate and manage the risks arising from a significant increase in relevant illegal content and/or content harmful to children on their services.
Key Partner Updates
EDMO is an EU-wide network of factcheckers, media literacy practitioners and researchers seeking to build resilience to disinformation. EDMO Ireland developed the Be Media Smart ‘Workshop in a Box’, works on media literacy research and standards, and co-hosts the annual Disinformation Forum with MLI. Coimisiún na Meán is Ireland’s agency for developing and regulating a thriving, diverse, creative, safe and trusted media landscape. Coimisiún na Meán funds and facilitates MLI, and promotes media literacy initiatives for individuals, communities, policymakers and institutions.
EDMO Ireland Updates
EDMO Ireland was delighted to receive funding from Coimisiún na Meán to investigate the mainstreaming of media literacy in Ireland. The funding will support the implementation of Ireland’s National Counter Disinformation Strategy by investigating how media literacy is best adopted across key Irish sectors as a disinformation countermeasure.
EDMO Ireland also recently delivered bespoke training on manipulation and how to respond to the Romanian Community of Ireland and to the Dublin Public Participation Networks (PPNs) during their Summer School. They also delivered a public talk on the ‘Influence Industry’ at DLR Lexicon library. If your organisation or community group would like to explore a collaboration, EDMO would love to hear from you.
At EU level, EDMO Ireland was represented in Lithuania at the DG AGRI Workshop on LEADER and Social Resilience.
The EDMO network recently also concluded a specialised Training Series on Identity-Based Disinformation. If you missed the live sessions, the recordings are available on the EU-EDMO website. This is a valuable resource for understanding how disinformation targets specific communities.
Coimisiún na Meán Updates
In early June, members of Coimisiún na Meán’s Media Literacy and User Education team attended the International Media Literacy Research Symposium in Rome, where they delivered a presentation on reporting harmful content online and the role of regulators in upholding rights and empowering audiences.
As part of its guides and resources, Coimisiún na Meán is delighted to share its new website page on accessing parental controls for a number of video-sharing platforms based in Ireland. This helpful page includes advice on how to make a complaint about these controls and other compliance issues under the Online Safety Code.
Events
EDMO Training on Generative AI and Hybrid Influence – 6 July
As part of the EDMO Training Programme, an online session on 6 July will ask how do we make sense of what we hear and see? The session will also explore how AI-generated images, audio, video, and text interact with coordinated influence operations, platform dynamics, and emotional narratives to affect how citizens interpret and engage with information. The session is designed to deepen understanding and support participants in adapting their own educational, journalistic, and civic practices to a rapidly changing media ecosystem.
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Webinar: AI and Human Dignity – 6 July
As part of the Media Education Lab webinar series, an evening panel discussion will take place on 6 July to examine Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence, and the broader questions it raises about AI ethics, education, and our shared digital future. Panellists will explore the encyclical’s key arguments, examine secular and cross-faith responses to its framework, and discuss what its call for discernment looks like in concrete classroom and library practice.
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Save the date: Disinfo2026 – 7–8 October
The counter-disinformation community will meet for #Disinfo2026 in Vilnius, Lithuania. The main conference days on 7–8 October will feature a full programme of sessions in a variety of formats, and pre-conference workshops will be organised on 6 October. Registration for the event is now open.
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The AONTAS Adult Education Summit 2026 – 21–22 October
The AONTAS Adult Education Summit 2026 will be held 21–22 October at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre and Radisson Blu Hotel. The 2026 theme is Shaping Europe’s Future through Adult Education and the event welcomes educators, learners, policymakers, and community leaders from across Ireland and Europe to explore the role of adult and community education in shaping a more inclusive, equal, and sustainable future. Registration is now open for this event.
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In Case You Missed It
Verifying what we see: introducing VISAVIS on visual misinformation – 18 February
A Media & Learning Association webinar entitled Verifying What We See: Introducing VISAVIS on Visual Misinformation, which took place in February, is now available to view. The webinar introduced the VISAVIS project, a European initiative focused on strengthening people’s ability to recognise and verify misleading visual content, including manipulated and AI-generated images. Speakers presented key insights from the project, shared practical verification approaches, and discussed how visual literacy can be strengthened through education and training. You can view the recording here.
Media Literacy in action: producing radio and podcasts for young audiences – 22 April
A recording has been made available of a Media & Learning Association webinar entitled Media Literacy in action, producing radio and podcasts for young audiences, which took place in April. This webinar explored how radio and podcast production can be used as powerful tools for media literacy education. The session highlighted how hands-on media creation enables young people to move beyond passive consumption and become critical, responsible communicators. You can view the recording here.
OpenLitterMap Citizen Science webinar – 3 June
On 3 June, geographer and founder of OpenLitterMap.com Seán Lynch delivered a webinar aimed at rallying all of Ireland’s 950 TidyTowns groups to start documenting their impact to create a citizen-led deliverable for Ireland’s EU Presidency. TidyTowns members were urged to capture data records and upload them to a citizen science platform like OpenLitterMap.
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International Media Literacy Research Symposium 2026: Highlights – 4–6 June
Taking place 4–6 June in Rome, the International Media Literacy Research Symposium 2026 drew participants from around the globe and from many different sectors and professional backgrounds – yet a number of common themes emerged. The discussions throughout the symposium highlighted not only the diversity of approaches within the field but also a growing consensus around many of the challenges ahead: how to scale media literacy effectively, how to keep it human-centred in an increasingly technological environment, and how to strengthen collaboration across sectors, countries and disciplines.
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EU Disnfo Lab webinar: From Botnets to AI Swarms – 18 June
An EU Disinfo Lab webinar on 18 June explored how AI-enabled disinformation may evolve and scale in sophistication and coordination: from persistent AI personas and AI-supported botnets to cyborg propaganda through verified human accounts, adaptive engagement testing, and campaigns designed to manufacture the appearance of public consensus. As well as mapping the risks, the session examined possible responses and the evidence, infrastructure, governance and safeguards needed.
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Resource of the Month
UNESCO: Navigating Climate Information for Media and Information Literacy
An online climate literacy course, developed by UNESCO and the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP), empowers citizens to navigate today’s complex information and digital landscapes critically and ethically.
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Looking for media literacy resources?
The resources section of the MLI website provides easy access to a variety of resources on a wide range of media literacy topics. You can now filter by topic, target audience and resource type. If you would like to submit a resource for inclusion in this library, please complete this form.
Thanks for reading!
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Kind regards,
The MLI Team
