The winners of the 2025 Media Literacy Ireland Awards were announced on 6 October at an exciting awards event kindly hosted by Virgin Media Studios.
Paul Quinn, Virgin Media News Correspondent, expertly took on the role of Master of Ceremonies at the event, which was attended by representatives of all the 20 shortlisted projects, and most of the 15 judges.
Opening the event, MLI National Coordinator Martina Chapman explained that the awards were a way of recognising, celebrating and promoting the vital media literacy work being undertaken, often quietly and without much fuss, by people and organisations across Ireland. Martina thanked the judges for their time, and for the insights and objectivity that they brought to the process. She also thanked Virgin Media for the wonderful hosting of the MLI Awards and Coimisún na Meán for their continued funding and facilitation of MLI.
Áine Ní Chaoindealbháin, Managing Director, Virgin Media Television noted how Virgin Media recognises the important role that media literacy plays in strengthening trust in public service media, promoting media pluralism and supporting a flourishing media landscape, and highlighted how Virgin Media’s commitment to supporting their audiences on their lifelong media literacy journeys.
On hand to present the awards was Aoife MacEvilly, Commissioner for Broadcasting and Video-on-Demand in Coimisiún na Meán. In her opening remarks, Aoife outlined the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach to delivering media literacy and the important role that MLI has in that space. She also highlighted the significant and distinctive role that all broadcasters have to play in the context of media literacy.
And the winners were …
The #DISCUSS AI project by the ADAPT Centre won the Best General Media Literacy Initiative.
This project received strong praise for its inclusive, well-researched, and collaborative approach to AI literacy. Designed with accessibility in mind and grounded in national strategy, the initiative stood out for its robust design, interdisciplinary methods, and meaningful stakeholder engagement.
The Young Journalist Ireland project by NewsBrands Ireland took home the trophy for the Best Media-Led Media Literacy Initiative.
This was described as a ‘bullseye’ media literacy project by the judges. They felt it was an excellent initiative, with clear evidence to suggest that it has been adopted successfully by many classrooms across the country. At the heart of the project is the production of media materials and empowerment of students through the development of media content creation skills
The winner of the Media Literacy Initiative for Young People was Algowatch by Aphra Kerr, UCD and the ADAPT Centre, in collaboration with Savoir Devenir, Maynooth University, Association for Communication and Media Culture-DKMK, and Iscte University Institute of Lisbon.
Given the importance of the topics of algorithms, AI and disinformation in the current media landscape, the judges felt this was a particularly timely and relevant project. Judges also noted that this initiative stood out for its novelty, reach and depth.
The Hi Digital project by the Vodafone Foundation, in partnership with ALONE and the Irish Girl Guides, was the winner of the Best Media Literacy Initiative for Older People.
The judges thought that this was a superb, highly impactful initiative. It successfully empowered older people with essential digital and media literacy skills, while fostering confidence, independence and social connection.
The winner of the Best Community-Based Media Literacy Initiative was Podcasting and Mobile Filmmaking Projects Inspiring the Travelling Community from Kinia.
The judges commended this programme for its deep community focus, and felt it was a model for best practice. They praised it as ‘powerful and culturally important project, rooted in community needs and partnership’.
Highly Commended Awards
As the judging took place, the judges felt strongly that a small number of projects deserved special recognition in the form of a Highly Commended award. In some cases, these projects were very, very close to the category winner, but not in all cases, so these are not ‘second place’ awards, but an acknowledgement of a project having something special, something unique, that makes it stand out.
The recipients of the 2025 Media Literacy Ireland Highly Commended awards were …
A Parent’s Guide to Social Media by Trina Mara and Eoin Glackin from Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio
The judges felt this project produced very strong and engaging content that was likely to empower a large group of people and provide support to them, in a more passive and unexpected way.
Creative Media Passport by Createschool
This is a project that has developed an impressive flexible, self-paced learning framework, which makes learning both meaningful and accessible.
The judges thought this was a highly credible and well-structured initiative that connects digital citizenship with ethics, offering young people a flexible and engaging way to explore media literacy.
The connection between content and ethics was praised, as well as the use of Irish voices.
Smart Cafe by SICAP and Louth Local Development
The judges fell in love with the warmth and connectedness of this project. They felt it excelled in combining accessibility, community engagement and peer-led learning to meaningfully empower older adults to develop their media literacy skills.
Storytelling and Creative Media project by Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ETB
This resonated strongly with the judging panel because of its inclusive, heartfelt and practical approach to media literacy, and a design that supported lifelong learning.
The Trophies
The winners of each of the five award categories received a beautiful trophy and each of the Highly Commended projects received a beautiful MLI Awards wall plaque. Designed and hand-crafted by Cian Magill of Magill Woodcraft Ireland, the design is based on an abstract representation of an enlightened eye – symbolising the power within, that can be achieved with persistence and inner belief. It is also inspired by the concept of awareness, critical thinking, and one’s motivation to make a positive difference in the world.
Congratulations to everyone who was shortlisted, and to all of the category winners and the Highly Commended projects.
For a more detailed description of the winning projects visit the Awards section.
