Media Education Consultations in the Context of Media Policy

On Tuesday, February 28, 2023, from 12:30 to 14:00 on the Zoom platform, the fifth consultations were held as part of a structured dialogue within the project “Media Education Matters.” The consultations were moderated by Darija Jeger from the Croatian Debating Society, and they discussed the place of media education in the context of media policy. The author of the media education guideline in the context of media policy, Ivana Pejić from Kurziv – a platform for culture, media, and society issues, participated in the consultations. She emphasized in the initial part of the consultations that media literacy doesn’t only concern those involved in the education system but also encompasses other media users, thus emphasizing the importance of focusing on the media as actors in the field of media literacy. Therefore, it is necessary to work on developing a comprehensive strategy, as well as continuously encourage the creation of quality content addressing media literacy topics.

Using the Mentimeter tool, participants in the structured dialogue answered questions during the consultations about what media education means to them and what media policy is. Their responses indicated that both media education and media policy should focus on establishing frameworks for developing plans and cooperation strategies between public bodies and NGOs and educational institutions at all levels of education – from preschools to universities, as well as media and professional associations of media workers.

According to existing research, in Croatia, there are currently no comprehensive strategies dedicated to media literacy or safe use of new media, and there is a lack of mechanisms to encourage the production of media content on media literacy topics and clear objectives related to media literacy policy. Therefore, participants were asked about opportunities for establishing better cooperation between associations and professional organizations with educational institutions to promote media literacy and media education. Participants see quality opportunities for collaboration in the form of workshops, lectures, and similar activities organized by associations dealing with media literacy in preschools, schools, and universities, as well as involving young people in choosing media literacy topics they want to learn more about. However, participants note that such collaboration needs to be continuously developed as the existing collaboration between public bodies and associations, professional journalistic organizations, and media in implementing media literacy projects is very poor.

Some of the adequate mechanisms for promoting media literacy recognized by participants include: organizing youth-attractive activities, socially useful learning in the higher education system, involving experts in working groups for drafting laws and strategies related to media policies, informing citizens about media literacy topics, and establishing a communication platform between public bodies, educational institutions, and civil society organizations to stimulate discussions on media literacy issues. Participants also believe that funding for projects in the field of media literacy should be improved as the majority of participants consider the current situation inadequate.

Most participants believe it is important to establish continuous and systematic intersectoral cooperation when forming public policies in the field of media literacy. They identify the Government of the Republic of Croatia, the Ministry of Culture and Media, the Ministry of Science and Education, the Agency for Electronic Media, the Council for Electronic Media, the Agency for Education and Training, the Journalists’ Union, media publishers and advertisers, civil society organizations, and citizens’ and student associations as important stakeholders in the processes of making media policies that affect media education.

Given the role of the Council for Electronic Media as an independent regulatory body in the field of electronic media in the Republic of Croatia, participants had the opportunity to propose ways to further strengthen its regulatory role, which, in their opinion, can be achieved by ensuring the competence of people in leading positions in the Council, professionalization of membership and public calls, and strengthening their presence on social media.

In the context of promoting the production of media content addressing underrepresented topics in the field of media literacy, participants pointed out that the situation can be improved through targeted funding and continuous funding of projects dealing with media literacy, collaboration with educational institutions where future media workers are educated, conditioning topics to media funded by public funds, educating journalists, and encouraging the production of content in the field of media literacy.

In the concluding part of the consultations, participants had the opportunity to rank recommendations for the development of media education in the context of media policy by importance. They highlighted sustainable funding for media projects promoting media literacy as the most important and concluded that it is necessary to incorporate media literacy into national education policies, develop and adopt a national media literacy policy, establish an institutional body for its implementation, and more strongly include critical thinking and media literacy in educational curricula.

The consultation meeting was organized as part of the project UP.04.2.1.06.0047 “Media Education Matters,” co-financed by the European Social Fund. The content of this article is the sole responsibility of Gong.