Project Designation: Understanding Media Literacy
Funding Entity: American Corner-US Embassy
Principal Researcher: Cecilia Beecher Martins
Co-responsible: Marta Soares & Sílvia Frota
Research Unit: ULICES
Partners: Media Education Lab, University of Rhode Island
Duration: 2022-2023
Funding: $2,400
Overall description: Education in media literacy is crucial in an increasingly polarised society. However, there are many questions that need to be considered when making this statement, such as: How can the promotion of media literacy contribute to combating the increasing polarisation of public opinion in contemporary societies? What is the state-of-the-art of media literacy in Portugal? How can media education contribute to solving problems that affect our society? Therefore, we planned a one-day event “Media Literacy: from theory to practice (a one-day event)” to discuss these questions and also to consider practical approaches to introducing media literacy practices into the classroom. The morning was dedicated to the discussion of digital and media literacy with a keynote lecture by Renee Hobbs, a world reference in the field followed by a round table discussion with Portuguese experts Isabel Nery, Manuel Pinto and Vítor Tomé. The afternoon was dedicated to a practical workshop aimed at graduate and post-graduate students in education and communication studies.