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Media Literacy Observatory for Active Citizenship and Sustainable Democracy – Final Event

Citizen competence is crucial for active political participation, which is one of the most important components of good governance and sustainable democracy. In recent years, we have observed political developments that are leading to a deterioration of democratic standards in many parts of the region. The core element of civic literacy is a high level of media literacy. Citizens must be able to reflect on social reality and defend themselves against negative media phenomena such as hate speech and fake news.

For this reason, the main objective of the MELIA Observatory project is to improve democratic transnational governance through the development of a transnational media literacy observatory based on the collaboration of different relevant stakeholders. This project serves as a mechanism to improve media literacy and thus empower citizens, contributing to the development of sustainable democracy. The project established a media literacy observatory that provides media content research tools, training tools, and policy recommendations to improve media literacy in conjunction with other civic skills.

As part of the project, Algebra University College designed and developed a tool to easily identify different types of media messages - the MELIA Observatory platform with tools based on the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The intelligent platform recognizes the sentiment of media texts and shows users the elements of hate speech to further strengthen their media literacy.

The Final Event of the MELIA Observatory was held in Budapest on October 9, 2022. The event was organized by our Hungarian project partner Budapesti Kereskedelmi és Iparkamara (BKIK) (Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI)).

The conference was opened by Matevž Tomšič, Professor at the School of Advanced Social Studies, Project Manager of MELIA Observatory, who presented the general assumptions and goals of the project. Johannes Gabriel, Project Officer for Danube Region Program's Joint Secretariat, also took the floor and emphasised the great role our project plays in creating media awareness among the young generation of media recipients.

Several high-level experts presented the results of this international project:

  1. Mapping Media Literacy in Danube Region – Bogran Radu, Babes-Bolyai University (Romania),
  2. MELIA Observatory Platform – Leo Mišić, Algebra University College (Croatia),
  3. Learning Materials and Training Network – Lukaš Reichrt, Edhance Plus o.p.s. (Czech Republic),
  4. National Pilot Projects – Yantsislav Yanakiev, Research Centre Regional and Global Development (Bulgaria).

Thanks to our excellent speakers, we were able to address how to prepare for the media, information and communication ecosystem covered by artificial intelligence, why media literacy is important for a sustainable and vibrant future, and what are the biggest challenges for media literacy in the post-Covid era. This is especially important now that the status of digital space has changed from a convenience to a necessity.

Technology has become an integral part of daily life and digital space is now one of the most important sources of information about phenomena, processes, and other aspects of Internet users' functioning. Important to mention is also a panel discussion on the importance of media literacy in today's world. All participants agreed that benefits of media literacy and recently developed tools should be shared across the Danube region. The event provided an excellent opportunity for the stakeholders to participate in a cross-national knowledge transfer through presentations and subsequent roundtable discussions.

The MELIA Observatory project ends at the end of December, but the results and innovative tools developed are available online for everyone across the Danube Region. You can find them on our official website: https://www.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/melia-observatory

We thank the partners for their cooperation in the implementation of this project!