European Digital Media Observatory launches Media Literacy Guidelines

The European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) has published guidelines for effective media literacy initiatives.

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. 

The guidelines aim at helping make media literacy initiatives across Europe more effective. This is crucial to EDMO’s wider mission, since better media literacy is likely to increase the public’s resilience to online mis- and disinformation. 

The guidelines are designed for use by anyone involved in the development of media literacy initiatives – civil society, educators, policy makers, 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,” says a press release by the European Commission. “Media literacy initiatives – such as training courses, published lesson plans or other resources, online games, or campaigns – vary considerably in scope, size, duration and focus. As a result, not all of these guidelines will be relevant to all projects. It is entirely up to the user to select the most appropriate advice for their initiative.” 

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.

Find out more

Press release

Download the guidelines