Guidelines

Media education increases agency, inclusion and wellbeing.

Media education that strengthens agency increases citizens’[21] inclusion and promotes equality in different communities and society as a whole. Regional and local media education becomes stronger and is more visibly reflected in policy documents alongside practical work. The duties and responsibilities regarding media education are identified better by individuals, families and professionals. The versatility of and international collaboration in the media education field improves.

Agency is strengthened through the following measures:

Promote local and regional media education. 

Strengthen media education’s scope for action on a regional and municipal level. Make the statutory and obligatory duties to promote media literacy and the opportunities for collaboration between different sectors more visible. Support and monitor the inclusion of media literacy promotion in existing municipal strategies and plans, such as literacy strategies or cultural education and wellbeing strategies. Support regional organisations in drawing up media literacy plans where necessary. Strengthen the work of local and regional networks, the formation of these and the implementation of best practice to support high-quality everyday media education work.

Provide support for balanced everyday media use.

Draw on research-based knowledge on media use and its impacts, and develop cross-sectoral approaches to strengthen media practices that promote agency and wellbeing. Offer support for different kinds of media use for all ages e.g. at educational institutions, in homes, in leisure activities and within social welfare and healthcare services. Produce training related to the subject for professionals in different fields, particularly those who encounter people in a vulnerable position in their work. Emphasise the importance of community and collaboration in creating balanced everyday media use.

Increase the diversity in media education.

Make inclusive media education the starting point of the activities, taking into consideration different age and language groups, identities, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and challenges related to learning and different life situations. Plan the activities so that the participants can influence the content, and acknowledge that every target group includes different kinds of people. In addition to the official languages, also strengthen the position of other autochthonous languages and minority languages in media education. Create content, events and communications with due consideration for plain language, accessibility, and inclusiveness. Communicate using images and words that as many people as possible can identify themselves with.

Strengthen diverse approaches to media education.

Promote a media education field in which all actors feel welcome, regardless of organisational size, sector, or scope of activities. Strengthen networks which help to reduce overlapping work and find connections to existing plans and strategies. Invite new organisations particularly from fields that are not yet well represented in media education. Also acknowledge the cultural diversity of the organisations and the benefits it brings to the entire field. Organise and develop events where those who work in media education can meet, share ideas and learn. Communicate about new activities and opportunities for collaboration.

Promote ethical and safe media use.

Provide information to citizens about rights and responsibilities related to ethical and safe production and use of digital media. Produce information, content and training on e.g. safe media use, privacy protection, copyright, and citizens’ own responsibility in creating a safe media environment. Provide information on reporting inappropriate behaviour and violations of rights. Study the media use and practices of people of different ages and life situations and how their rights and safety could be improved through legislation and other measures. Take a stand on and influence large digital platforms’ responsibility to make their services safer and more ethical.

Strengthen trust in society.

Increase understanding, through media education, of reliable sources of information and the importance of trustworthy information for people’s wellbeing, social stability, and the preservation of democracy. Strengthen media participation and civic engagement through media education, and provide information on the role of media literacy in maintaining national resilience. Increase collaboration with other organisations that are responsible for security.

Promote organisations’ active participation in the international collaboration in media education.

Reduce the threshold for new organisations to join in the international collaboration in media education, such as different working groups, projects and networks. Share knowledge and utilise ideas and solutions that have been developed elsewhere. Identify the global challenges in media education in terms of e.g. large digital platforms, artificial intelligence and sustainable development and be a part of solving them.

[21] In this policy citizens refer to all people in Finland who take part in media education and learning media literacy as private individuals, not in a professional role. The term does not refer to a person’s official Finnish citizenship. 

Competence is generated and strengthened through education, research, working life and experience.

Media literacy that strengthens agency and wellbeing is achieved through the media education skills of professionals, high-quality media education, and citizens’ individual and joint learning. The role of research-based media education strengthens in different forms of education and working life. Media literacy is an objective of teaching at all levels of education, from early childhood education to upper secondary education, and its promotion is directed in a normative way through national core curricula. New and developing technologies are understood and utilised better, and key media phenomena are communicated directly to homes.

Skills are improved through the following measures:

Strengthen the position of media literacy in teaching, guidance and other frontline work with clients.

Media literacy should be clearly defined as an objective in all forms of education. Set objectives for the pedagogy in early childhood education and pre-primary education. Define objectives subject-specifically in the core curriculum for basic education, the core curriculum for general upper secondary education and the qualification requirements for vocational education. In addition to formal education, also strengthen the role of media education in non-formal education and in other frontline work with clients carried out in different sectors and with different target groups. Continue to develop the practices and activities in high-quality media education work. Strengthen the position of media education as part of everyday activities, as well as the employees’ competences and job descriptions.

Increase the teaching of media education in higher education.
Strengthen the position of media education in the course selection of higher education institutions. Study and improve the collaboration models between higher education institutions to ensure that every student who will need media education in their future profession has the opportunity to gain deep knowledge on media education beyond just individual courses. Strengthen media education’s position in teacher training. Every new teacher who graduates has at least basic knowledge and pedagogical competences to teach media literacy.

Media education is based on research.
Media education is based on research, and the theoretical knowledge offers conceptual tools e.g. to structure, assess and critically develop the objectives of media education. Encourage media education researchers to combine research and practical training and to participate in the public debate. Consistent development of terminology in the national languages supports the effectiveness, long-term impact, and efficient use of resources in media education work.

Provide continuing education and adult education in media education.
Strengthen both employers’ and employees’ understanding of the importance of media literacy and media education skills as working life competence. Through continuous education the competence of working teachers and other professionals promoting media literacy in particular can be strengthened. Continuing education is provided both alongside work, through separate courses, and as part of higher education. In the public sector, media literacy training is offered as part of in-service training. Employers offer training themselves and also create opportunities for participating in media literacy training. Focus on the target groups’ needs and the quality of the implementation when planning and carrying out training. Offer opportunities for adult learning in media education for all adults, e.g. as part of the liberal adult education, media education in libraries and integration training.

Promote media literacy as part of lifelong learning. 
Support media literacy and the prerequisites for being an active citizen by strengthening the key skills in lifelong learning. In addition to wide-ranging literacy work, e.g. digital competence is also seen as one of the basic requirements for improving media literacy in all age groups. In addition to skills that develop in childhood and youth, also support adults, particularly older people and those outside work and formal education, to develop their digital competence, which will also improve their ability to participate in society by digital means. Support collaboration between the public sector and non-governmental organisations, and also identify the importance of voluntary work and the skills of people who do this work in supporting the lifelong learning of media literacy.

Deepen expertise and understanding of new technologies and societal phenomena.
Strengthen the competence of professionals who promote media literacy in their work in relation to new and emerging technologies, game education and societal phenomena that are relevant for media education. This is achieved by providing training, workshops, and up-to-date information that supports continuous learning and development.

Strengthen national resilience through extensive public service announcements and material communicated to homes.
Produce media education material sent to homes and out-of-home care, e.g. foster care, that explain current phenomena in an accessible way – e.g. how artificial intelligence is changing the way information is created and used, how to identify misleading content on the internet, or what issues should be taken into account in media education for children.

The economic, cultural and ecological sustainability of media education is strengthened. 

The economic, cultural, social and ecological sustainability of media education is strengthened when the work in the field is long-term and based on inclusion and environmental awareness. The sustainability is supported by flexible structures, a varied financing base, and strong coordination and collaboration which reflect the importance of media education in society.

Sustainable and continuously stronger media education is promoted through the following measures:

Raise the profile of media education and support structural development.

Emphasise the key role of media education in fostering bildung, democracy and media culture and in improving comprehensive security. Continue to strengthen the role of media education as part of the national education, cultural and security policy, the public debate and decision-making in society. Promote the inclusion of the term media education and its objectives not only in the national core curriculum, but also in strategic documents in different fields in a cross-cutting way. Promote the creation of sustainable operating models and the kind of project and business activities related to media education that strengthen regional vitality and competence.

Diversify the funding base and methods of funding.

Map out the sources of funding for media education and strengthen the funding through cross-sector collaboration. The aim is to enable long-term work and extensive projects, and to promote the use of EU funding and funding from other international sources among organisations of all sizes throughout Finland. Increase the share of private funding in media education and emphasise the importance of corporate responsibility in developing media education. Utilise existing funding programmes in areas such as education, culture, digital inclusion, wellbeing, regional development, sustainable development, national security and resilience.

Strengthen the coordination of media education.
Strengthen the role of the public sector in the field of media education. Offer media education organisations regular communications, coordination support, guidance and information about the field. Support organisations in preparing funding applications for both national and international projects and create conditions for carrying out long-term activities throughout Finland.

Develop ecologically, socially and culturally sustainable media education.
Strengthen the understanding of the media’s impact on the environment, the economy and on social and cultural sustainability. Utilise existing concepts and tools, such as the UN’s Agenda 2030 goals and the national strategy for sustainable development. Take the sustainability perspective into account e.g. in media education content, technologies, acquisitions, event types and pedagogical solutions. Carry out more extensive collaboration with the creative sectors, the arts, and local and regional cultural organisations. Promote the preservation and development of Sámi culture and other national minority cultures. Strengthen social sustainability by promoting equality, accessibility, inclusion and safe media agency.

Promote openness.
Document and publish the media education work in an accessible way. Share materials produced with public funding under open licences and on open platforms for non-commercial use. Utilise accessible and environmentally conscious solutions and ways of working, such as remote and hybrid events and recordings. Promote the open sharing of best practices between organisations. Support organisations in documenting and assessing media education projects and sharing results so that these can become resources for new activities and forms of collaboration.

Develop assessment practices.
Create, develop and share assessment models that support the quality, continuity and efficacy of media education. Strengthen the qualitative impact assessment. Offer training on assessment methods and utilising results. Share assessment data openly on websites, in networks and at workshops.

Strengthen Nordic collaboration.
Promote Nordic collaboration in media education by supporting the exchange of information, joint development projects and networks between organisations in different countries. Collaboration strengthens the understanding of regional and cultural diversity, acknowledging the Sámi perspective and sharing best practices across borders. Support joint projects, seminars and competence development that increase the visibility and impact of media education on a Nordic level. Nordic collaboration can also strengthen the funding opportunities, the mobility of expertise and the role of media education in regional vitality and comprehensive security.