On Friday, 20 January, the Media Literacy for Democracy (MLFD) project officially started with an international online conference. The MLFD project promotes an effective media literacy strategy based on the multidisciplinary approach and cross-sector cooperation to tackle disinformation, empowering citizens to make informed decisions and protect democratic values. The project has three phases.
The first phase started with an opening conference that invited partners, stakeholders and panellists to discuss how in the last years, the phenomenon of misinformation and disinformation have become a real threat to European democracy, European integration, and the well-being of European citizens. The conference also touched on how this has the potential to polarize public opinion, undermining democratic values and reducing trust in democratic processes.
During the conference, Mariya Rachinska from FECE presented the very first product of the project – a booklet aimed at informing citizens about the negative impact of disinformation on democratic societies and the importance of media literacy to build civil society’s capacity to adapt to the digital era and protect democratic values.
The panellists also discussed disinformation around migrants and asylum seekers and pedagogical approaches to addressing disinformation and media literacy.
The conference was attended by 130 people and concluded with a Q&A session.