23.03.2023

Finland’s Media Literacy Week – reaching people of different ages, languages and all parts of the country.

In Finland the SID was celebrated for the 11th time in its extended version known as the Media Literacy Week. Our successes this year are related to how linguistic minorities were considered, to geographical coverage and the number of participants and partners.

The aim of the week is to advance the media literacy skills of children, young people and adults as well as to support professional educators, guardians and other adults in their important media educational tasks. It is coordinated by the National Audiovisual Institute.

Materials and events for everyone, covering the whole country 

child with phone
An animations series was published to celebrate the SID. One of them deals with a child’s first phone and everyday situations related to a safe and responsible media use and friendship skills. The same animation was also made in Swedish. Graphics: Filmbutik.

In 2023 the week was carried out with 58 partner organizations from all sectors of society, increasing the number of partners by 10, compared to last year. Together with the partner organizations, 85 materials in both Finnish, Swedish and Sámi language were published for the MLW, and 30 events were organized. The materials included a new animations series for children and parents to adopt a balanced media use at home. Also, many materials focused on bullying prevention and a sustainable lifestyle.

Other linguistic and cultural minorities were also considered. The Sámi are indigenous people of Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia. Some partner organizations and the National Audiovisual Institute published media education materials in different Sámi languages. Also, materials in plain language were published to support media education of those who need special support in learning.

2300 professionals registered for the week. In this way, thousands and thousands of children, young people, adults and senior citizens are reached. This year, we had more representatives from the Swedish-speaking Finns than ever before, including the Aland Islands.

The MIL week sparks hundreds of activities around the country. To name a few: in kindergartens, children broadcasted their own news on a cardboard television and studied emojis as part of emotional education. Youth centers organized campaigns against cyberbullying and shared tips for digital well-being. Many libraries offered workshops on critical reading skills for schools.

More information about the Week:

Leena Pylkkö, Communications Planner
MIL Week’s graphics: Antti Yrjölä

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