The European Charter for Media Literacy

The European Charter for Media Literacy aims to outline a broad consensus about how media literacy should be defined and asks for a commitment from individuals to support its implementation throughout Europe.

While this had the potential to be restictive, had media literacy been defined in narrow and prescriptive ways, in fact it offers much room for flexibility. Broadly speaking it defines media literacy in ways that are familiar to media educators in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries with well established histories in this area.

The focus is on:
- critical conceptual understanding
- creative and reflective particiaption
- skills development with new technologies
- citizenship
- broad experience of diverse media


Website: The Charter for Media Literacy states:

1) We make a commitment to:

Raise public understanding and awareness of media literacy, in relation to the media of communication, information and expression;

Advocate the importance of media literacy in the development of educational, cultural, political, social and economic policy;

Support the principle that every European citizen of any age should have opportunities, in both formal and informal education, to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to increase their enjoyment, understanding and exploration of the media.

2) We believe that media literate people should be able to:

• Use media technologies effectively to access, store, retrieve and share content to meet their individual and community needs and interests;
• Gain access to, and make informed choices about, a wide range of media forms and content from different cultural and institutional sources;
• Understand how and why media content is produced;
• Analyse critically the techniques, languages and conventions used by the media, and the messages they convey;
• Use media creatively to express and communicate ideas, information and opinions;
• Identify, and avoid or challenge, media content and services that may be unsolicited, offensive or harmful;
• Make effective use of media in the exercise of their democratic rights and civic responsibilities.

3) We will contribute to the development of a media literate European population by offering, or enabling others to offer, opportunities for people to:

• Broaden their experience of different kinds of media form and content;
• Develop critical skills in analysing and assessing the media;
• Develop creative skills in using media for expression and communication, and participation in public debate.

4) We pledge to support or participate in research that will identify and develop:

• Better understanding of what it is to be media literate;
• Effective and sustainable pedagogy for media literacy;
• Transferable evaluative methods and assessment criteria for media literacy.

5) We agree to undertake, or enable others to undertake, the following:

• Build links with other signatories and contribute to the growth of a European network for media literacy;
• Identify and share evidence of the outcomes of media literacy initiatives which we undertake or are associated with;
• Work to make content legally available to be used for media education purposes.

6) We wish to be listed on www.euromedialiteracy.eu as:

• A Supporter of the European Charter for Media Literacy*
• A Sponsor of the European Charter for Media Literacy*
• A Provider under the terms of the European Charter for Media Literacy*

As a provider, we commit to developing a timed and costed organisational Action Plan for Media Literacy, which will implement the Charter commitments we have made. We will publish our Action Plan on www.euromedialiteracy.eu.