Agenda for Media Literacy
Policy Recommendations for European Cities to
support Children and Young People
gefördert von
The European Network Cities for Children is supported by the
Robert Bosch Stiftung.
Patrons
EUROPEAN UNION
Committee of the Regions
Agenda for Media Literacy
Policy Recommendations for European Cities
to support Children and Young People
PREAMBLE
In European cities, the importance of media communication in the every day lives of children and adolescents is
growing. Young people explore the world through online
resources and participate in social life and politics by publishing audio and visual material. In order to empower children and young people to profit from media according to
their needs as citizens of our societies, we need to ensure
their media education.
The European Network Cities for Children presents recommendations of action that shall give advice to European
municipalities who seek to enhance the media literacy of
children and adolescents.
Throughout the years 2010 and 2011, the working groups
of Cities for Children exchanged experiences of how the
media play a role in the fields of education, urban planning, health prevention, youth participation and road
safety of children and young people in urban areas.
Professor David Buckingham contributed his scientific
expertise as the director of the Centre for the Study of
Children, Youth and Media at the University of London and
as a member of the media literacy expert group of the
European Commission. He merged the recommendations
that were elaborated within the working groups. Having
published them, the recommendations will be addressed to
the EU-Parliament, the EU-Commission, as well as to our
partners in European and media institutions.
With the Network Cities for Children, 68 cities from
32 European countries support these recommendations of
action on media literacy. As initiator of the Network Cities
for Children it is my pleasure to present them to you today.
I would like to thank all our members, partners and
colleagues for cooperating in the effort to increase the
media literacy of our children.
Dr. Wolfgang Schuster
Mayor of Stuttgart
President of the Council of European Municipalities and
Regions (CEMR)
Cities for Children
Agenda for Media Literacy
Content
page
OVERVIEW
4
Why media literacy?
5
What is media literacy?
6
What is media education?
7
Media literacy and the role of municipalities
8
Media literacy and the European Network Cities for Children
9
The policy context
10
RECOMMENDATIONS AND GOOD PRACTICES
11
From policy to practice
11
Recommendations
11
PEDAGOGY
12
1. Promoting media education
12
2. Providing tools for media education
12
3. Media education from an early age
13
4. Closing the generation gap
14
5. Providing information
15
SUSTAINABILITY
16
6. Understanding users’ needs and practices
16
7. Project evaluation
16
PARTNERSHIP
17
8. Cooperation within city administrations
17
9. Cooperation between public and private partners
17
10. Exchange of good practice
18
PARTICIPATION
19
11. Youth participation through networking
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12. Securing youth involvement in project management
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13. Involving young people in more isolated areas and communities
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14. Enabling young people to reach new audiences
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15. Pan-European youth participation
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SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
22
MEMBER CITIES OF THE NETWORK CITIES FOR CHILDREN
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IMPRINT
24
Agenda for Media Literacy
OVERVIEW
Why media literacy?
The need for media literacy arises from the increasing
significance of the media in contemporary social life. The
media are major industries, generating profit and employment; they provide us with most of our information about
social issues and about the political process; and they offer
us ideas, images and representations that inevitably inform
and shape our view of reality. The media are the major
contemporary means of cultural expression and communication: to become an active participant in public life – to
be a citizen today - necessarily involves making use of the
modern media.
These issues apply with particular force to children and
young people. Young people across Europe spend more
time engaging with media than they do on any other
activity aside from sleeping. Media of various kinds are
their pre-eminent source of information and entertainment, and increasingly form a vital means of self-expres-
sion and communication both within the peer group and
across generations. The media, it is sometimes argued,
have now taken the place of the family, the church and the
school as the major socialising influence in contemporary
society.
Such claims can be overstated: there is a danger here of
implying that the media are all-powerful, or that they
necessarily promote a singular and consistent view of the
world – and that children in particular are merely passive
recipients of media effects. Researchers – and indeed many
educators – have increasingly come to question such
simplistic accounts of media influence. Children are much
more active, competent media users than is often assumed.
Even so, education and welfare policies that address young
people’s needs – whether at an international, national or
local level - cannot afford to ignore the central importance
of the media in their lives.
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Cities for Children
What is media literacy?
The English term ‘media literacy’ is roughly equivalent to
the German word ‘Medienkompetenz’ (media competence). Both refer to the need for understanding, practice
and education that are relevant to the needs of our more
intensively mediated ‘knowledge societies’. ‘Media literacy’
is the term that is more frequently used at a pan-European
level, and in a policy context, and so it is the one that will
be employed here. Media literacy is often defined as ‘the
ability to access, understand and create media communications’. Following this three-fold definition, it can be
asserted that:
Media literacy depends upon the ability to use media tools
and technologies, both for the consumption and production of media. This implies, firstly, that people should have
easy access to media, in the home, the school or the
community; and secondly that they should possess the
basic skills – the functional literacy – that is required to use
them. Extending media literacy thus entails addressing
continuing inequalities of access and skill: while these are
sometimes termed ‘digital divides’, they do not only apply
to digital media.
However, media literacy is about more than functional literacy: it also entails a form of critical literacy. It is about the
ability to understand, evaluate and make critical judgments
about media form and content. For example, this means
knowing about how media are produced, and the institutions that produce them; making judgments about the
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credibility and accuracy of media representations; and
understanding how media target and address different
audiences.
Finally, media literacy also entails creative media production. It enables young people to interpret and make
informed judgments as ‘consumers’ of media; but it also
enables them to use media more actively, in order to
express themselves and to communicate with audiences,
and thereby (at least potentially) to become more powerful
participants in society. In this regard, media offer significant creative opportunities alongside more traditional
performing and visual arts, and the various forms of verbal
communication.
In each of these three areas, it is important to emphasise
that media literacy is concerned with the full range of
media, including moving image media (film, television,
video), radio and recorded music, print media (particularly
newspapers and magazines), and new digital media or ICTs
(information and communication technologies such as the
internet, mobile communications and computer games).
While new media offer new opportunities in terms of access
and creative production, they also represent new challenges
(for example, in relation to safety and to marketing) and
pose many new questions, not least about identity. ‘Old’
media such as television and print continue to be
important aspects of children’s media environment, and
their potential should not be forgotten or overlooked.
Agenda for Media Literacy
What is media education?
People obviously develop media literacy spontaneously
through their everyday encounters with media. Young children quickly develop the ability to interpret quite complex
media texts, and often make sophisticated critical judgments about what they watch and read. Given the opportunity, they can also learn to create media for their own
self-expression, and in order to communicate with others,
without the need for any formal instruction. However,
there are aspects of media literacy – skills, knowledge,
critical understanding – that may not be acquired or developed spontaneously. This points to the need for media
education.
Media education aims to extend and develop both critical
understanding and creative participation in media. It can
take place in both formal and informal settings – in schools
and homes, as well as in ‘third spaces’ such as community
centres, libraries, youth clubs and other public locations.
It often entails partnerships between teachers, youth-led
groups, civic organisations and activists of various kinds, as
well as the media industries and media regulatory bodies.
While progress has been slow, growing numbers of European nations are now beginning to incorporate elements
of media education in the mandatory school curriculum;
and there is also increasing funding available for media
production projects, for example in youth arts and social
work contexts.
It is important to emphasise that media education is primarily concerned with teaching and learning about the
media. This should not be confused with teaching through
the media – for example, the use of television or the internet as tools for teaching science or history. Media education should not be confused with educational technology
or e-learning. However, media educational principles can
and should inform these more instrumental uses of media:
using media for learning necessarily means understanding
how the media function, and how they create meaning.
Indeed, the use of ICTs and other educational media is
likely to be more effective if learners are encouraged to
adopt a more informed and critical approach.
It should also be noted that media education is seen as
part of a broad concept of ‘liberal education’, which
encompasses the whole person – or what is termed ‘Bildung’ in German. Thus, media education may involve the
acquisition of vocational (work-related) skills, especially
those relating to the use of media technologies. However,
it is not primarily conceived as a form of training for
employment: rather, the emphasis is on developing critical
understanding and creativity as important ‘skills for life’.
Similarly, while media education may involve some attention to issues of risk and safety, it is by no means limited to
this. In general, there has been a move away from a protectionist, ‘supervisory’ approach to media education,
which seeks merely to warn children about the potential
dangers of media use. The emphasis in most current initiatives is on a form of empowerment – enabling children to
become confident, independent users of media, who are
able to make informed decisions on their own behalf.
While media education inevitably addresses broader cultural, moral and political concerns, it seeks to promote an
active, critical engagement on the part of young people,
rather than subservience to a predetermined position.
Finally, as noted above, there are still significant inequalities
in access to media – and particularly to new media such as
the internet. These inequalities relate principally to social
class and economic status, and in some respects to other
factors such as disability, ethnicity and geographical location. Such inequalities may affect the quality of access as
well as the quantity – for example, in terms of the available
functionality of the technology, the location and level of
support for use. This in turn affects people’s ability to develop not just functional skills, but also critical and creative
abilities. As such, it is especially important for media education to address these potential barriers to developing
media literacy.
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Cities for Children
Media literacy and the role of municipalities
Aside from the general arguments discussed above, why
should media literacy and media education be a particular
concern for municipalities? There are several reasons that
might be identified here:
Despite assertions about the rise of the ‘network society’,
geographical location remains a key determinant of
children’s quality of life. While new media to some extent
transcend physical constraints and boundaries, research
increasingly shows that ‘online’ and ‘offline’ worlds are
strongly interconnected. Indeed, one interesting dimension
of the internet has been the rise of so-called ‘hyperlocal’
media, which help users to access and to participate more
actively in local community life, and in activities in their
immediate neighbourhood.
There is a long history of community-based media projects,
which have arguably taken on a new lease of life with the
advent of more affordable and user-friendly technologies
both for production and distribution. For example, it is
now possible for young people to shoot, edit and publicly
distribute very high-quality short films using inexpensive
equipment and software that many will have easily available in their own homes. Coming together, either in informal friendship groups or in the semi-formal context of
community-based projects, helps to ‘socialise’ the production process and enable media-makers to reach out to
wider audiences. Such projects can also help to provide
access to media for geographically isolated, disadvantaged
or socially excluded groups; and they can play a key role in
community empowerment.
There is also growing recognition of the potential of media
to promote civic participation among young people, especially through the use of so-called ‘social media’ or ‘Web
2.0’ – terms that refer to participatory online services such
as social networking sites, blogs and online discussion
forums, and sites for sharing ‘user-generated content’
(such as video-and photo-sharing sites). A wide range of
local government bodies, NGOs, activist organisations and
grassroots youth groups have begun to use these services
in recent years in their efforts to engage young people.
Such initiatives can provide powerful opportunities for
young people to share experiences, to represent their own
concerns, and to have their voices heard more widely – not
least by those in power. While some initiatives of this kind
have remained somewhat ‘top-down’ in their approach,
others have taken advantage of the potential of new
media to create decentralised communication from the
‘bottom up’. It is important also to note that young people’s civic participation can take a variety of forms: it is not
necessarily confined to formal political channels established
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by adults (such as youth parliaments) but may also be
apparent in aspects of youth culture (such as music and
sports).
The advent of mobile technologies also enables media production opportunities to be taken out to more isolated or
less accessible communities, and to people who for various
reasons may be unable or unwilling to travel or to participate in more formal institutional settings. This is a further
example of how inequalities of access can be concretely
addressed.
At the same time, these experiences should not be confined to young people. Media also provide important
opportunities for intergenerational communication and dialogue. Elderly people in particular may be motivated to
develop technological skills and media literacy once they
discover that this enables them to communicate with
younger people – and this can in turn have much wider
social benefits. The staff of city and municipal administrations may also need to develop their own media literacy,
perhaps especially in the use of social media, as part of
their everyday activities. Both local and national governments are beginning to recognise the potential of using
services such as social networking sites as means of
increasing their dialogue with citizens and making their
own work more available and approachable.
The emphasis here, and in most of the examples of good
practice that follow later in this document, is largely on
‘informal’ opportunities for media education. Provision in
formal education is often a matter for national policy.
However, in some instances municipalities may be able to
play an important role in supporting media education in
schools, for example by creating networks for schools to
share good practice, providing professional development
for teachers, or creating media-based learning materials
with a particular local focus. In addition to providing facilities and technology, they can also play a key role in fostering the critical understandings and competencies that are
needed to make effective use of such resources.
Agenda for Media Literacy
Media literacy and the European Network Cities for Children
These issues relate to many of the broad aims of the
European Cities for Children Network. Media literacy can
play a significant role in the development of child-friendly
policies and practices in European municipalities. In seeking
to promote the exchange of experiences in this field, the
Network can assist in the development of local policies,
as well as drawing attention to examples of innovation
and good practice in media literacy that will inspire others
to follow. The Network can therefore play an important
role in fostering excellence and providing a basis for advocacy, as well as updating members on the latest developments and opportunities in the field. It helps to coordinate
this exchange by organising workshops, cooperating with
experts and making the results of its work publicly available.
Media literacy is relevant to several of the key themes
of the network’s working groups. In relation to Working
Group 1 Education, media are relevant both as a tool for
learning and as a subject for learning, as we have seen.
In respect of Working Group 6 Youth Participation, social
media in particular can play a crucial role in reaching
young people, enabling them to participate in civic and
political processes and to communicate both with each
other and with older age groups. Regarding the topic of
Working Group 5 Generational Dialogue, media can play
a role in reconnecting the generations and engaging them
in processes of mutual learning.
Media literacy can also play a significant role in relation to
other social needs and issues. For example, in relation to
Working Group 3 Health, information is increasingly being
made available via the media; and media literacy can
enable individuals to use and evaluate the range of information sources in a more effective and critical manner.
Likewise, in relation to the topic of Working Group 7 Traffic and Safety, municipalities can make effective use both
of old media (such as radio or advertising) and new media
(especially mobile communications) as means of promoting
road safety. In the thematic area of Working Group 2
Housing and the Planning of Play Areas, media literacy
can provide possibilities for children to participate in the
process of urban planning; while in relation to Working
Group 4 Work-Life Balance, media can provide important
opportunities for young people to express their views on
the organisation of family life, and to create intergenerational dialogue.
In all these areas, media should enable children to be involved not only as consumers or receivers of information or
services, but also as active participants – making it possible
for them to express their needs, represent their views and
experiences, and have their voices heard by policy-makers.
They can also provide a valuable means for city authorities
to communicate back to young people, to make their services accessible and responsive to young people’s interests
and concerns. In all these respects, it is vital that young
people – as well as city authorities themselves - know how
to use media tools effectively. It is also essential that they
have a critical understanding of how media can be used
to represent the world, to communicate and to exercise
influence.
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Cities for Children
The policy context
Over the past decade, media literacy has become a key
priority for policy-makers, both at an international and
pan-European level and in the case of some national
governments as well.
Globally, UNESCO has had a long history in this field, and
has recently returned to the topic of media literacy, for example through issuing a range of policy papers and training materials, and through its support of regional networks
both in Europe and beyond. The United Nations Alliance of
Civilisations has also focused on media education as one
aspect of its efforts to foster intercultural dialogue.
At the European level, there is mention of media literacy in
the European Audiovisual Services Directive (2007); and
over the past couple of years, the Commission has been
moving steadily towards the formulation of a binding policy on media literacy. There was an official Communication
on media literacy in late 2007; followed in 2008 by a study
of current trends in the field; and a formal Recommendation in summer 2009. The latter is entitled the ‘recommendation on media literacy in the digital environment for a
more competitive audiovisual and content industry and an
inclusive knowledge society’ – a title that reflects some of
the diverse political imperatives media literacy appears to
address. Yet the move from a Communication to a Recommendation is a sign that progress is being made – and that
pressure may eventually be exerted on national governments to include media literacy as a mandatory area of the
school curriculum.
There have been parallel developments at a European level
in the area of digital literacy, which is recognised as a significant dimension of ‘e-inclusion’ – that is, the promotion
of access to new media among hitherto excluded or disadvantaged groups. These initiatives have in turn been supported by the European Charter on Media Literacy, and by
the work of EC expert groups in both areas.
At a national and local level, the picture is inevitably more
uneven and diverse. One potentially problematic issue here
is that media literacy is often seen to be the responsibility
of media regulatory bodies rather than educational or
social welfare departments. While this approach does
place some responsibility on the media themselves to promote media literacy, it may also result in a narrowing of
the agenda: in some contexts, media literacy seems to be
regarded as synonymous with online safety, or alternatively
with widening access to the internet – issues that are certainly important, but which do not really address the critical and creative dimensions of media literacy, as outlined
above.
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While these international and national policy initiatives are
essential, municipalities can also play a leading role in devising comprehensive and innovative strategies for promoting media literacy. Municipalities are best placed to ensure
coherence among the different stakeholders, to ensure
that services are responsive to local needs, and to provide
concrete support to successful projects. While education
policy is generally a regional or national responsibility, municipalities can provide invaluable support to schools, for
example in providing teacher training and advisory services, and co-ordinating city-wide networks and services.
They can play a particularly important role in the informal
education sector, for example in supporting media literacy
projects in areas such as youth work, libraries and community centres through providing funding, training and infrastructure.
Agenda for Media Literacy
RECOMMENDATIONS
AND GOOD PRACTICES
From policy to practice
At a local level, there is a fairly well established understanding of what makes for effective practice in this field, which
draws on knowledge of other community-based, cultural and civic initiatives with young people. This was reflected in
the key principles used in the evaluation of projects submitted for the Award of Excellence this year. Applications from
numerous innovative and well established projects were submitted, and several key themes were derived from the evaluation process, as follows:
Pedagogy – do projects have clearly defined educational
goals that are suited to the different contexts and the different age groups with which they work? Do projects make
appropriate use of both ‘old’ and ‘new’ media, where relevant? This covers questions about the overall design and
provision of services, the support and training of staff, and
the provision of information and opportunities for media
production to young people.
Sustainability – does the funding and management of
projects allow for long-term development of expertise?
This in turn raises questions about the continuity of funding, the organisation and evaluation of projects, the availability of training and professional development for project
staff (especially in the informal sector), and the infrastructure for collaboration between projects in different locations.
Participation – to what extent do projects address issues
of social exclusion, by securing the participation of disadvantaged groups? Are children and young people involved,
not only as ‘consumers’ of services, but also in actively
shaping and evaluating what is provided? Are young people enabled to speak, not just to each other, but also to
wider audiences – including those in power? For example,
there are questions here about how young people are
reached and recruited, the social diversity of participants
and the mechanisms for management, feedback and evaluation within the project.
In the following sections, we give some specific policy recommendations for municipalities and city administrations
on these themes, along with some examples of good practice taken from the applications for the Award, and from
some non-applicants that are part of the wider Cites for
Children network.
Partnership – do projects involve a range of potential
stakeholders, across formal and informal sectors, and in
public and private bodies? While some projects may well
be quite localised and specific in focus, they can benefit
from constructive relationships with local government bodies, community groups, educational institutions and media
organisations, in which each other’s expertise is appropriately recognised.
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Cities for Children
PEDAGOGY
1. Promoting media education
Municipalities should adopt clear policies and comprehensive standards to ensure the quality of formal
and informal media education curricula and programmes, and support this with consistent funding and
infrastructure.
Good Practice: Salzgitter: Medien@Salzgitter. The City
of Salzgitter has developed a comprehensive and wellfunded strategy to increase the media competence of children and young people, involving collaboration between
local government, NGOs, libraries and educators. It encompasses four main projects. In ‘On top with the Laptop’, notebook computers are used in all classes and teachers are
trained about how to use media in school. ‘From Books to
Computers and Back’ involves the library of Salzgitter providing media education to children and young people. ‘Online
in Child- and Youth-Centres’ provides educators to accompany access to the internet for young people in youth centres. In ‘Open to Everyone’ media centres offer equipment
and internships, as well as advice on media education to
young people. Taken together, these projects form a broader
strategy of embedding media education within everyday culture from an early age.
Further Information: www.salzgitter.de, michael.osann@stadt.salzgitter.de
2. Providing tools for media education
City administrations should support educational and community-based institutions in providing access to
media technologies and teaching materials, in order to prepare children and adolescents for a more intensively mediated environment.
Good Practice: Luxembourg: Technolink Centre. In
1998, the City of Luxembourg decided to equip all its fundamental schools with ICT, and to support this via a centre
called Technolink. Technolink is a comprehensive network
and web platform providing support, resources and training
for teachers and parents using ICT for learning. Staffed by
teachers, designers, developers and technicians, it integrates
the development of technological skills with curriculum
applications, as well as addressing pedagogical aspects and
providing opportunities for teachers to share content. While
the network is largely concerned with ICT in education, it
provides a model that could be applied to media literacy
more broadly.
Further Information:
www.technolink.lu, kids.technolink.lu, gaston.groeber@technolink.lu
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Agenda for Media Literacy
3. Media education from an early age
Municipalities should ensure that media education programmes address children from an early age, and
provide educational institutions with the means and technical tools, as well as training, to support this.
Good Practice: Zabrze: Feel-Good. This project, which
has been running since 2007, provides workshops and training (both online and offline) for parents and teachers working with children aged 6-9. In addition to focusing on safe
and effective reception of media, it also provides children
with the ability to use these media to produce their own
content. This is an approach that could potentially be
extended to even younger children.
Further Information:
www.zabrze.pl, ewolnica@um.zabrze.pl
Good Practice: Presov: ovce.sk. This project is a collaboration between the city administration of Presov and a civic
organisation called eSlovensko. It has created innovative animated materials on internet safety designed for very young
children (aged 5-10), using updated characters and narratives from traditional fairytales. The materials focus on issues
such as grooming, pornography and discrimination, and are
produced to a very high quality: the DVDs are supplemented
with online materials, and are available in several languages,
including via YouTube. The materials focus only on safety
issues, but the broad approach could well be extended to
other aspects of media literacy.
Further Information: http://sheeplive.eu/?r=ovce,
miroslav.drobny@eslovensko.sk
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Cities for Children
4. Closing the generation gap
City administrations need coherent strategies for training parents and other adults in media literacy, and
enabling a sharing of expertise and perspectives between generations.
Good Practice: Gelsenkirchen: From Dummy to
Notebook. The City of Gelsenkirchen, in co-operation with
Gelsenkirchen Children’s Daycare and Staedtische Bewegungskindertageseinrichtung Niefelstrasse, has created a
cross-generational project bringing young children and elderly people together to explore and create music using new
media technology. The project has been running since 1992,
and involves collaboration between childcare centres and a
senior citizens centre. For example, one music project ‘From
Gramophone to iPhone’ involves live musicians, co-operation
with a local recording studio, and the production of a CD
featuring the participants’ arrangements. Making music is
seen as a valuable means of bridging the gaps between
youth culture and the cultural lives of grandparents.
Further Information: annette.fischer@gekita.de
Good Practice: Birmingham: Keeping IT in the Family.
Initiated by digital Birmingham, in collaboration with industry and public sector partners, this is one of a number of
projects promoting digital literacy and media education in
the city. Keeping IT in the Family is a comic-style resource
designed to help school-aged children teach older family
members key IT skills. The success of the initial project has
led to further materials in areas such as healthy living, online
safety, accessibility and social networking. There has also
been a competition where children were invited to submit
their stories about family teaching sessions. While the materials are largely focused on ICT skills, this intergenerational
approach could usefully be extended to other aspects of
media literacy.
Further Information:
www.digitalbirmingham.co.uk/itools-resources/
keeping-it-in-the-family, stuart.daniels@birmingham.gov.uk
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Agenda for Media Literacy
5. Providing information
In addition to more sustained educational projects, municipalities should conduct public information
campaigns focusing on the risks and opportunities of media use, as well as providing details of relevant
organisations, events and advice services.
Good Practice: Utrecht: Jong030. Developed by the city
administration and the local youth office, Jong030 is a new
informational web portal for youth focusing on participation
in work, health, sports and culture. Addressed to young people aged 12-23, it also offers an online helpdesk and links to
other social media services. The portal was developed with
the participation of young people themselves. While fairly
broad in focus, it offers an approach that could be adapted
and extended specifically in relation to media literacy.
Further Information: www.jong030.nl, m.jaater@utrecht.nl
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Cities for Children
SUSTAINABILITY
6. Understanding users’ needs and practices
City administrations should cooperate with universities and research institutions to facilitate scientific
research on the media practices of children and young people, as well as the needs of parents and teachers.
Good Practice: Gaziantep: Child-Friendly Media.
As part of its wider initiatives to promote media education,
the Municipality of Gaziantep is collaborating with public
and local media, and children aged 11-16, in a new initiative
on the theme of child-friendly media. The project seeks to
influence media organisations to create and to identify childfriendly media, and it draws on research and workshops
involving children themselves. The project has yet to be implemented, but it offers an interesting approach to involving
young people in the ongoing monitoring of media in a way
that can be sustained over time as new generations become
involved.
Further Information: bld.gov.tr, celebi.didem@gmail.com
7. Project evaluation
Media education projects need to undergo critical evaluation, both by their users and by independent
research organisations, in order to ensure their quality, sustainability, effectiveness and acceptance among
participants.
Good Practice: Stuttgart: Medienfluten (“Media
Floods”) (not among Award applicants). This project offers
workshop modules for pupils, empowering them to use the
media critically and independently. It also provides training
for parents and educators enabling them to supervise children in their media use. The effectiveness of the project is
being rigorously assessed by an independent research institute, offering a useful model of project evaluation.
Further Information:
http://www.medienfluten.de,
www.kinderfreundliches-stuttgart.de
roswitha.wenzl@stuttgart.de
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Agenda for Media Literacy
PARTNERSHIP
8. Cooperation within city administrations
Municipalities should create crosscutting networks between the relevant administrative departments and
public media institutions within the city, as well as providing information and training for administrators,
parents, educators and other service providers.
Good Practice: Munich: Inter@ktiv Network.
Inter@ktiv is a large-scale, city-wide network involving 50
institutions providing media education in lifelong learning,
including educators, private foundations, research institutions, policy-makers and media professionals. Since it began
in 1994, there has been an annual series of autumn workshops, training events and lectures for young people, school
classes, families, parents and education professionals. Each
year has a new theme, and sample topics have included
‘Worlds of Media – Worlds of Knowledge’, ‘Everything is
Online’, and ‘Games: Playing without Borders’. The network
addresses both the critical and creative dimensions of media
literacy, and provides a successful model of sustained co-operation between different institutions and interest groups.
Further Information: www.interaktiv-muc.de, interaktiv@sin-net.de
9. Cooperation between public and private partners
City administrations should also initiate cooperation in the field of media literacy between public institutions and private corporations, including media companies.
Good Practice: Nis: Centre for Children’s Production.
Initiated in 2002 by a group of non-governmental organisations, the Centre for Children’s Production organises a range
of projects involving children in TV and film production, including a ‘film school’ for children and a children’s film festival (which is part of the city’s overall adult film festival). The
initiative involves extensive collaboration between the city
authorities, NGOs, schools, libraries, media companies, the
children’s parliament and others. The Centre places a strong
emphasis on children communicating their views, often on
quite serious subjects, to wider audiences; and it also has a
particularly strong focus on engaging marginalised Roma
children and disabled children.
Contact: stela.jovanovic@gu.ni.rs
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Cities for Children
10. Exchange of good practice
Municipalities should seek to encourage good practice exchanges between European city administrations
in the field of media literacy on an international level.
Good Practice: The European Network Cities for
Children (not among Award applicants). The Network is an
international platform that enables cities to exchange good
practices in the field of child friendliness. In the seven working groups, city administrators engage in a regular exchange
of information about their practical experience on the topics
of education, health, affordable housing and play areas,
work-life balance, intergenerational dialogue, youth participation and traffic safety. With the European Award of Excellence ‘City for Children’, outstanding projects are recognised
as a means to encourage processes of mutual learning.
Throughout the years 2010 and 2011, the currently 68
member Cities of the Network have exchanged experiences
and jointly established this Agenda for Media Literacy
together with Professor David Buckingham to advise European municipalities and give practical examples of how to
increase the media literacy of children and young people.
Further Information: www.citiesforchildren.eu; children@stuttgart.de
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Agenda for Media Literacy
PARTICIPATION
11. Youth participation through networking
Educators, social workers and city administrators should utilize social media to facilitate young people’s
engagement in local political processes. This will in turn require ongoing training for staff as these media
evolve.
Good Practice: Malmö: Plattform Malmö (not among
Award applicants). The City of Malmö gathers a range of
social services at Plattform Malmö, where young people
(12-21 years) and their parents can get support by calling
one single phone number. In order to further improve access
to social services, Plattform Malmö has launched a chat,
where teenagers, their parents and people victims to crime
unanimously can chat with a social worker about issues of
their concern.
Further information: http://www.malmo.se/plattformmalmo,
gaby.wallstrom@malmo.se
12. Securing youth involvement in project management
Projects should seek to maximise the participation of young people, not simply as users or consumers of
services, but as actively involved in the design, management and delivery of services.
Good practice: Krakow: Mlody Krakow – Mlode
Media. The city of Krakow works with schools, community
centres and NGOs to support this youth magazine and web
portal. Young people are given training to develop their journalistic aspirations through workshops and camps, and
involved at every stage in the planning, implementation,
evaluation and introduction of new services. The service
operates as a channel for communications between the city
authorities and young people. It has been in operation since
2003, and the magazine ‘Smiglo’ enjoys an impressive rate
of production and wide readership. Some former participants have also moved on to become involved in youth
radio stations.
Further Information: tomasz.talaczynski@um.krakow.pl
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Cities for Children
13. Involving young people in more isolated areas and
communities
Municipalities should address inequalities in access to media facilities and media education projects, by
targeting disadvantaged and isolated groups directly, for example through the use of mobile technologies.
Good Practice: Hannover: Medienbus. A 22-year-old
bus, originally used in the public transportation system, has
been renovated by the city and equipped with media workstations and facilities. The bus travels to youth centres and
schools providing access to media production opportunities,
including video production, web design, game programming
and social networking. The main focus is on non-fiction and
documentary media, and on addressing social issues. The
project involves partnership with media companies and with
interest groups such as an association for political education
and an anti-violence campaign for football fans. It has been
running since 2003, and is very successful in reaching a
socially diverse group.
Further Information: www.medienbus.de,
george.speckert@hannover-stadt.de
14. Enabling young people to reach new audiences
Municipalities should support young people in getting their opinions published in the media, by creating
strong relationships between media organizations and city-funded media education projects.
Good Practice: Antwerp: StampMedia. StampMedia is
a young people’s news agency. It provides workshops in
journalistic skills, including writing, photography, video and
audio production, which are guided by professional experts.
The participants are encouraged to explore critical questions
about social issues, and to develop a young person’s perspective. The agency promotes the publication of the young
people’s work in local and national media, not least through
a collaboration with the main Belgian Press Agency, and it
has been very successful in ‘infiltrating’ mainstream media:
participants have press cards, and several have gone on to
find employment in the media industries. The participants
are socially diverse, and play a full role in the planning and
management of the project. StampMedia also makes extensive use of social media.
Further Information: www.StampMedia.be, birgit.soetewey@stad.antwerpen.be
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Agenda for Media Literacy
15. Pan-European youth participation
European municipalities should support international exchange between youth organizations, for example
through the use of social media platforms and coordinated activities online.
Good Practice: Riga: Central Baltic INTERREG project
‘Youth Space’. This project, which is running from 2010 to
2013, is a joint effort by partners from the cities of Riga,
Tallinn and Stockholm. It aims to create a unique transnational learning, communication and inclusion space for
young people; and thereby to encourage them to work
together to create a better living environment - physical and
virtual - for young people as a necessary element in the
development of more attractive and dynamic societies.
The Education, Culture and Sports Department of Riga City
Council, the Youth Centre of Tallinn and the Stockholm
School of Arts are collaborating to set up a creative space
for young people and motivating them to acquire new skills
and competences for cross-border cooperation.
Further Information: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Youth-Space/196541033691761?v=info, www.youthspace.eu,
sandra.biseniece@riga.lv
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Cities for Children
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Some key titles representing international perspectives on media literacy.
Asthana, S. (2006) Innovative Practices of Youth Participation in Media
Paris: UNESCO
Bennett, W.L. (ed.) (2008) Civic Life Online: Learning how Digital Media can Engage Youth
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
Buckingham, D. (2003) Media Education: Literacy, Learning and Contemporary Culture
Cambridge: Polity
Enghel, F. and Tufte, T. (eds.) (2009) Children Engaging with the World: Media, Communication and Social Change
Goteborg: UNESCO Clearinghouse for Children, Youth and Media
Fisherkeller, J. (ed.) (2011) International Perspectives on Youth Media: Cultures of Production and Education
New York: Peter Lang
Hart, A. (ed.) (1998) Teaching the Media: International Perspectives
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Harvey, I., Skinner, M. and Parker, D. (2002) Being Seen, Being Heard: Young People and Moving Image Production
London: National Youth Agency/ British Film Institute
Kotlainen, S. and Arnolds-Granlund, S. (2010) Media Literacy Education: Nordic Perspectives
Goteborg: UNESCO Clearinghouse for Children, Youth and Media
Lavender, T, Tufte, B., Lamish, D. (2003) Global Trends in Media Education: Policies and Practices
Urbana, IL: Hampton Press
Von Feilitzen, C. and Carlsson, U. (1999) Children and the Media: Image, Education, Participation
Goteborg: UNESCO Clearinghouse for Children, Youth and Media
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Agenda for Media Literacy
Member Cities of the European Network Cities for Children
Athens (Greece) I Augsburg (Germany) I Bern (Switzerland) I Bolzano (Italy) I Bonn (Germany) I Bottrop (Germany) I Brno
(Czech Republic) I Bucharest (Romania) I Budapest (Hungary) I Cologne (Germany) I Darmstadt (Germany) I Dublin (Ireland)
I Duisburg (Germany) I Elblag (Poland) I Gaziantep (Turkey) I Gelsenkirchen (Germany) I Ghent (Belgium) I Graz (Austria) I
Hamm (Germany) I Hildesheim (Germany) I Jena (Germany) I Kassel (Germany) I Kaunas (Lithuania) I Kotka (Finland)
I Kraków (Poland) I Lausanne (Switzerland) I Leverkusen (Germany) I Ljubljana (Slovenia) I Lodz (Poland) I Luxemburg (Luxemburg) I Malmö (Sweden) I Manchester (Great Britain) I Munich (Germany) I Naestved (Denmark) I Namur (Belgium) I
Nancy (France) I Nis (Serbia) I Nuremberg (Germany) I Odense (Denmark) I Offenbach am Main (Germany) I Oradea
(Romaina) I Panevezys (Lithuania) I Pécs (Hungary) I Presov (Slovakia) I Rezekne (Latvia) I Riga (Latvia) I Rijeka (Croatia) I
Salzgitter (Germany) I Samara (Russia) I Satu Mare (Romania) I Setubal (Portugal) I St. Helens (Great Britain) I Stara Zagora
(Bulgaria) I Stavanger (Norway) I Strasbourg (France) I Stuttgart (Germany) I Tampere (Finland) I Tartu (Estonia) I The Hague
(Netherlands) I Utrecht (Netherlands) I Valencia (Spain) I Valletta (Malta) I Vilnius (Lithuania) I Wiesbaden (Germany) I
Wroclaw (Poland) I Zabrze (Poland) I Zurich (Switzerland)
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Imprint
Publisher:
Mayor Dr. Wolfgang Schuster
City of Stuttgart
President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR)
Author:
Professor David Buckingham
Institute of Education, University of London
In cooperation with the member cities of the European Network Cities for Children
Design:
Uwe Schumann
Photos:
Christian Hass, ccvsision, Dieter Schütz pixelio.de, Applicants of the European Award of
Excellence “City for Children” 2011, Member Cities
Contact:
Cities for Children Coordination Office: Lena von Seggern
Commissioner for Children’s Affairs: Roswitha Wenzl
Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart
Coordination Office Cities for Children
Policy Office of the Mayor
Marktplatz 1
70173 Stuttgart
Deutschland
Fon: +49 (0) 711 216 72 91
Fax:
+49 (0) 711 216 32 56
E-mail: children@stuttgart.de
www.citiesforchildren.eu
Stuttgart, May 2011
www.citiesforchildren.eu
Contact:
Cities for Children Coordination Office: Lena von Seggern
Commissioner for Children’s Affairs: Roswitha Wenzl
Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart
Coordination Office Cities for Children
Policy Office of the Mayor
Marktplatz 1
70173 Stuttgart
Deutschland
Fon: +49 (0)711 216 72 91
Fax: +49 (0)711 216 32 56
E-mail: children@stuttgart.de