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.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We have lots of news for you this month, including the winners of the Young Lions competition and the 2026 Young Journalists Awards. Staying with the theme of young journalists, Learning Waves has opened applications for its Journalism Graduate Programme. We also have news about a fantastic new resource for third-level institutions from Munster Technological University, lots of great new resources from Webwise and information about how media literacy is being embedded within forest schools in Ireland. We also have lots of items about AI this month too, including the launch of the AIready.ie platform. Read on! <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n AIReady.ie<\/a> is the Government\u2019s new national AI skills development platform, designed to provide people across Ireland with access to essential AI skills. Developed by SOLAS, in partnership with the National Skills Council, the aim of the platform is to enable anyone to learn the fundamentals of artificial intelligence through free, practical and bite\u2011sized online courses. Earlier this year, MLI was delighted to act as the official client partner for the 2026 Irish Young Lions Competition. This month, following a rigorous assessment process, Iapi announced the 14 exceptional young talents who will represent Ireland on the global stage at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity this June. On 16 April, the winners of the Young Journalist Ireland Awards, run by NewsBrands Ireland, were announced at a ceremony in the Dublin Royal Convention Centre. The awards celebrate the outstanding work of Transition Year students from across the country, and prizes were awarded across six categories: Features, Opinion, Sports Journalism, Photojournalism, Podcast and School Newspaper. The Learning Waves 2026 Journalism Graduate Programme is an innovative programme designed and supported by the Independent Commercial Radio Sector, along with Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n and Skillnet Ireland. In 2026, Learning Waves will offer ten journalism graduates the unique opportunity to be placed in one of Ireland\u2019s radio stations for a period of five months. Find out about how to apply here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MIL-CC (Media and Information Literacy Community Connections) is pleased to announce that its media literacy training programme for public librarians is now freely available in English and Spanish. Funded by the European Media and Information Fund and supported by public library authorities in Ireland, Spain and Portugal, the project addressed the urgent need to upskill librarians with media literacy skills. While generative AI tools can be helpful for learning, creativity and exploring ideas, they also come with risks. As part of Safer Internet Day 2026, the students on the Webwise Youth Advisory Panel have created a new AI Aware Checklist, designed to help teens to better understand and safely use these tools. Ecomedia Kids is an interdisciplinary project that integrates ecology and media literacy into applied practices within Irish forest school settings. The first pilot phase has been completed, working with children aged 5\u201310 who attended weekly forest school sessions in Dublin over a six-month period. The project supports children in developing critical thinking skills and introduces age-appropriate discussions about climate change, misinformation and the ecological impact of media technologies. On social media platforms, algorithms decide what content is shown to users based on their preferences, behaviour and interactions. Under the Digital Services Act, many platforms must now give users the options to reset or depersonalise their newsfeeds or algorithms. By regularly resetting their algorithms, users can manage their social media experience and maintain a balanced newsfeed. Webwise provides instructions for resetting algorithms for each of the most popular social media platforms. New Garda Schools Programme lesson on Coco\u2019s Law<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Developed in partnership with Webwise, a new Garda Schools Programme lesson on Coco\u2019s Law was officially launched last month. The lesson provides a clear breakdown of the legislation, which names new specific offences regarding online activity and empowers students to recognise key offences and understand that they are legally accountable for their digital actions. European Commission Special Panel for child safety online<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To better protect and empower minors online, the European Commission has assembled a panel of specialists to advise on the best approach for Europe on child safety online and potential age restrictions for social media. At its first meeting on 5 March 2026<\/a>, the Special Panel assessed current evidence on the risks and benefits from children\u2019s use of social media and other online activities. It also discussed existing approaches to online safety from the EU as well as in third countries. EU ethical guidance on AI in schools updated<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The EU has revised its ethical guidelines on AI use in schools. The new document, Guidelines on the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence and Data in Teaching and Learning for Educators<\/em><\/a>, aims to further support educators in making informed and ethical decisions when using AI and data in the classroom. Two Truths and AI is a series from the News Literacy Project that\u2019s designed to help students sharpen their critical thinking skills around AI. Each episode seeks to make AI literacy engaging and interactive and to stimulate classroom discussion. UNESCO Youth Hackathon \u2013 Coming soon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The annual UNESCO Youth Hackathon empowers young people to become changemakers by proposing innovative solutions to pressing challenges, leading the way toward a more media and information literate world. A flagship initiative of UNESCO\u2019s Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week<\/a>, the Hackathon invites participants to design practical and scalable initiatives that address issues such as misinformation and disinformation, online hate speech, ethical digital engagement, and critical thinking skills and media and information literacy. A call for proposals has been issued through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal to support actions that contribute to preventing and countering radicalisation leading to violent extremism and terrorism across the EU. In particular, this call responds to the growing challenge of online radicalisation, including the manipulation of youth and vulnerable groups through violent extremist, terrorist and other harmful content distributed via digital platforms. Reports by EU member states on national measures to promote and develop media literacy skills have been published, and Ireland\u2019s report reveals the breadth and depth of the work in this area, with the work of the MLI, EDMO and the Be Media Smart campaign highlighted. National reports are issued periodically under the Audiovisual Media Services Directive<\/a> and reports covering the period of 2022\u20132025 can now be viewed here<\/strong><\/a>. Ofcom\u2019s report provides evidence on media use, attitudes and understanding, and how these change over time, among UK adults aged 16 and over. The report supports Ofcom\u2019s wider media literacy work and Making Sense of Media<\/a> programme. Set up in 2005 and conducted annually, Ofcom’s Adults’ Media Lives study provides a small-scale, rich and detailed qualitative complement to Ofcom’s quantitative surveys of media literacy. The project follows the same 20 individuals over time and interviews them on camera each year about their media habits and attitudes. The interviews provide evidence about how media habits and attitudes change over time, in particular linked to life-stage. P<\/em><\/strong>sychological Defence and Information Influence<\/em> \u2013 a Textbook on Theory and Practice AI is becoming the backdrop of daily life and is the most powerful technology of our time. Common Sense Media\u2019s 2026 Generation AI: What Kids and Families Think About AI<\/em> reports on the key findings of a survey of US children age 12 to 17 years and their parents on how they feel about AI, how they think it will affect their futures, and whether they think it is child safe. Internet Matters has published the fifth Children\u2019s wellbeing in a digital world<\/em><\/a> report, part of an annual series that tracks the impact of digital technology and online spaces on UK families\u2019 lives. Based on a survey of 1,000 UK children and their parents, the research explores children\u2019s digital wellbeing through four dimensions: social, emotional, developmental and physical. This year, the report\u2019s key findings are that harms remain high and that children are struggling to regulate the amount of time they spend online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) is an EU-wide network of factcheckers, media literacy practitioners, and researchers seeking to build resilience to disinformation. EDMO Ireland is one of 14 hubs that is part-funded by the EU. EDMO Ireland developed the Be Media Smart \u2018Workshop-in-a-Box\u2019, works on media literacy research and standards, and co-hosts the annual Disinformation Forum with MLI. EDMO Ireland researchers provided commentary on the media dimension of recent events. In comments to the Irish Independent<\/em>, Aidan O’Brien highlighted the role of the disinformation economy <\/a>in the fuel protests and wrote an op-ed on the role of monetisation in the online abuse of politicians<\/a> for the Irish Examiner<\/em>. Eileen Culloty wrote about media freedom<\/a> for the Irish Times<\/em>. EDMO Ireland was very pleased to provide support for the new open-education resource on media literacy,<\/a> which was developed by Munster Technological University. Looking ahead, EDMO Ireland\u2019s Shane Murphy is working on a report on the impact of disinformation on the community sector ahead of the MLI-EDMO Ireland Forum next month<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n As memes are being deployed to normalise dehumanisation, justify violence, and wage information warfare, the line between joke and weapon has never been harder to locate or more urgent to teach. This Media Education Lab webinar on 4 May<\/strong> examines how memes have become weapons of power, propaganda and political manipulation, and explores how educators can help learners recognise, contextualise, and resist meme-based manipulation. Media Education Lab presents a case study on 11 May<\/strong> on how the process of creating a children’s picture book enabled an educator to discover strategies for introducing young learners to media literacy in developmentally appropriate ways. The project demonstrates how children’s illustrations can play an important role in linking creativity and family engagement in media literacy education. Taking place in Vienna, Austria, 11\u201312 May<\/strong>, the second Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting of 2026, organised by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, will explore the risks and opportunities of digital technologies for civic space and human rights. Three sessions will focus on digital threats to civic space; disinformation and civic space: implications for human rights and democracy; and strengthening digital resilience for the protection of civic space. As generative AI tools rapidly reshape academic practices \u2013 from writing and research to assessment and creativity \u2013 universities face urgent questions about how to prepare both educators and students for responsible and effective use of these technologies. This Media and Learning Association webinar on 20 May<\/strong> introduces AI-LITERATE<\/strong><\/a>, a European initiative designed to strengthen AI literacy in higher education by developing evidence-based guidelines, case studies and targeted learning pathways. The Media & Learning Conference 2026 will be held in Leuven, Belgium. The overall theme for the conference is Co-creating the future of learning<\/em>, a theme which runs throughout the programme\u2019s 38 different sessions, ranging from workshops and discussions to presentation sessions, demonstrations, networking opportunities and showcases. You can register and view the conference programme here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Participants are invited to a free one-day workshop in Galway on Friday 26 June<\/strong>, focusing on the role community media can play as community hubs or \u2018third spaces\u2019. The IAMCR 2026 Gary Gumpert event is being held in advance of the IAMCR conference taking place in Galway. Funding is available to cover public transport costs of participants involved with Irish community media projects. Contact iamcr2026@universityofgalway.ie<\/a> to register for the workshop and more information is available here<\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Children\u2019s Media Conference (CMC) will take place in Sheffield in the UK on 7\u20139 July<\/strong>, bringing together those involved in developing, producing and distributing content for children. With the theme for the 2026 event of Finding the Funding, Finding the Audience<\/em>, CMC will provide sessions, keynotes, workshops and videos. The counter-disinformation community will meet for #Disinfo2026 in\u00a0Vilnius, Lithuania. The main conference days on\u00a07\u20138 October<\/strong>\u00a0will feature a full programme of sessions in a variety of formats, and pre-conference workshops will be organised on 6 October<\/strong>. Registration for the event will open on 4 May<\/strong> and an\u00a0early bird fee will be available until the end of May. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A joint initiative by the CyberPeace Institute and EU DisinfoLab, the European Democracy Resilience Network (EDRN) pilot is designed to support civil society actors facing hybrid threats, including disinformation, doxing, impersonation and other digitally enabled attacks. An EU DisinfoLab webinar on 2 April <\/strong>provided key insights from the pilot, including the tools and support mechanisms that civil society organisations say they need to remain resilient. A UCD Research and Innovation panel discussion took place in December 2025 on the theme Communication in the Age of Disruption, <\/em>with experts exploring issues of trust, the role of evidence and expertise in public discourse, and disruption, innovation and evolution in the digital information ecosystem. You can watch the four-part recap online here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new educational resource on digital media literacy has been developed by Munster Technological University with the support of EDMO Ireland. The course, <\/em>Digital Media Literacy: Build the Skills to Question What You See Online<\/em><\/a>, provides essential skills for third-level students navigating today\u2019s digital information landscape and addresses the growing need for media literacy skills in higher education. The resources<\/a> 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<\/a> form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have a colleague or friend who might enjoy these updates, they can register to become an MLI member<\/a> or just subscribe<\/a> to receive the newsletter. For any membership issues, or if you have something you’d like to include in next month\u2019s edition of the newsletter, please email us at info@medialiteracyireland.ie<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kind regards, <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Read the November MLI newsletter for media literacy related news and updates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1309,"featured_media":5551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[349,23],"tags":[294,162,267],"class_list":["post-6914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mli-news-2","category-news","tag-media-literacy-events","tag-media-literacy-ireland","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThis Month in Media Literacy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Announcements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Are you AI ready?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nCannes Young Lions winners announced<\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYoung Journalist Ireland competition winners announced<\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nApplications Open for Learning Waves Journalism Graduate Programme 2026<\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
New MIL resources for available for librarians<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nWebwise Youth Advisory Panel’s new AI Aware Checklist<\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nEcomedia Kids Project \u2013 Empowering young children through environmental awareness, media literacy and forest school practice<\/strong> <\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nWebwise advice on how to reset your algorithm<\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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News Literacy Project: Two Truths and AI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nCalls to the Media Literacy Community<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Call for proposals on the community engagement and empowerment programme<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a>
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nResearch and Reports<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNational reports on media literacy measures<\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nOfcom: Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes Report 2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nOfcom: Adults’ Media Lives 2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/b><\/span>Published by the Psychological Defence Agency<\/a>, Sweden, Psychological Defence and Information Influence <\/em>examines how states, institutions and citizens can understand, detect and counter information manipulation such as disinformation and influence campaigns. It is a comprehensive overview of key issues related to psychological defence and information influence. A summary of the textbook is provided here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nCommon Sense Media report: A new look at families’ attitudes on AI<\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nInternet Matters report: Children\u2019s Wellbeing in a Digital World 2026<\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nEDMO Updates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat is EDMO?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nUpdates<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Events<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Webinar: Memes, Warfare, and Propaganda \u2013 4 May<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nWebinar: Media Literacy in Preschool: A Case Study from Croatia \u2013 11 May<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nSafeguarding Civic Space in the Digital Age: Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting II \u2013 11\u201312 May<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nWebinar: From policy to practice: advancing GenAI literacy in higher education \u2013 20 May<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nRegistration now open: Media & Learning Conference 2026 \u2013 17\u2013<\/strong><\/strong>18 June<\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Community Media and the Re-Making of Social\/Urban Space: Anchors in the Digital Commons \u2013 26 June<\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
The Children\u2019s Media Conference \u2013 7\u20139 July<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nSave the date: Disinfo2026 \u2013 7\u20138 October<\/strong> <\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a>
<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn Case You Missed It <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWebinar:<\/strong> How can civil society defend itself? The EDRN pilot story<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\nCommunication in the Age of Disruption<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Resource of the Month <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMTU Digital Media Literacy resource<\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nLooking for media literacy resources?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Thanks for reading!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The MLI Team<\/p>\n\n\n\n