Unconference: The European Media Literacy Toolkit for Newsrooms
Date: 6 November 2018
Venue: Brussels Press Club
Organiser: Global Editors Network (GEN)
The first unconference in the process to create a media literacy toolkit for European newsrooms will be held in partnership with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), which represents 32,000 journalists from 71 organisations across 43 countries. The event will gather experts from GEN’s and EFJ’s networks from around Europe to help develop a white paper to be published end of November on the first guidelines for prototypes.
EJN Involvement: The EJN’s director of campaign and communications, Tom Law, will help kick off the event by delivering a half hour ‘masterclass’ on media literacy.
More details to follow…
The European Media Literacy Toolkit for Newsrooms
Combating misinformation and disintermediation by restoring trust in journalism
How can newsrooms and journalists take ownership of promoting trust and transparency in their work? How can we reinforce the responsibility of journalists towards confronting falsehoods and engaging the public in identifying, and fighting disinformation? What role should platforms have in facing these challenges? What digital tools are the most effective for achieving these goals?
These are the challenges that will be addressed in this new programme by the Global Editors Network, supported by the European Commission.
This year-long initiative will gather the knowledge of dozens of key players in the media literacy debate with the goal of creating a set of digital tools and best practices to facilitate understanding between journalists and citizens. This straightforward toolkit will be ready for newsrooms to implement into their workflows by June 2019.
How do we get there? Unconferences, hackathons, working groups & white papers
4 unconferences
These unconferences will focus on how newsrooms interact with media consumers, how they can help stop the spread and creation of misinformation, and what tools or services would help them.
6 November 2018 — Brussels, Belgium
The first unconference will be held in partnership with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), which represents 32,0000 journalists from 71 organisations across 43 countries. We will gather experts from GEN’s and EFJ’s networks from around Europe.
White paper to be published end of November on the first guidelines for prototypes.
23 January 2019 — Vienna, Austria
The second unconference will be held in partnership with fjum (Forum for journalism and media). We will gather different types of audiences, including journalists and editors, media trainers, media practitioners, journalism students, and startups.
White paper to be published mid-February on the updated guidelines for prototypes.
March 2019 — Lisbon, Portugal
The third unconference will be held in partnership with the Portuguese Press Association (AP Imprensa). We will gather participants from regional and national media organisations as well as people from Lisbon’s vibrant startup scene.
White paper to be published end of March on the updated guidelines for prototypes.
April 2019 — Perugia, Italy
The fourth unconference will be held at the 13th annual International Journalism Festival (IJF). It is the most attended event by European journalists and students with more than 6,000 participants. The goal of this unconference is to invite young journalists and journalism students to participate, as it is the main audience of IFJ.
White paper to be published end of April on the final guidelines for prototypes.
Working group with unconference partner organisations
April 2019 — Berlin, Germany
A synthesis meeting will be organised between the four partners (GEN, EFJ, fjum, and AP Imprensa) to define the final guidelines of the Media Literacy Toolkit to be used during the hackathon. We will also invite relevant experts if we consider one aspect is not correctly covered by the different white papers.
Report produced by the end of April 2019 with final guidelines sent to the teams participating in the hackathon.
A hackathon for media literacy in Europe
April 2019 — Paris, France
Media literacy hackathon held with four to six teams of journalists, developers, and designers. The first day, they will brainstorm on projects based on the final guidelines and on the second day they will build prototypes of the strongest ideas.
Prototype roadmapping and implementation
May & June 2019
Development of the toolkit by the hackathon developers and/or an external company working closely with the hackathon teams. The products will be built taking into account different languages, as well as different technical or legal environments across the continent.
Media Literacy takes the spotlight at the GEN Summit
19 – 21 June 2019 — Lisbon, Portugal
Presentation of the toolkit at the GEN Summit, the most attended conference by editors-in-chief from around the world (850+ participants over the three days). It will be the opportunity to discuss the impact of the toolkit between European, American, and Asian media experts. Dan Gillmor, a US expert on media literacy, will speak in a session called “News Literacy 2020”. Facebook, Google and Twitter speakers will be also invited. The presentation will be divided in two parts:
- Session on main stage (with a Q&A session) with around 450 participants (mostly editors-in-chief, majority European)
- Workshop with a “hands-on” angle on how to implement, use, and promote the Media Literacy Toolkit within news organisations.
Getting European newsrooms on board with Media Literacy
June – September 2019
Promotion, marketing and implementation of the European Media Literacy Toolkit among the European newsrooms in all the EC countries. Work done by GEN and its three partners in their respective areas. The GEN Summit 2019 will also serve as an accelerator for getting media organisations on board with the toolkit.