We begin the 2026/27 academic year by looking at how media literacy is being promoted in Europe, and we do so with the help of the Director of Media Education and User Engagement at the Coimisiún na Meán (CNaM), the audiovisual regulator of the Republic of Ireland. Stephanie Comey has led the development of the Coimisiún's media literacy policy and has promoted the creation of an Irish media literacy network.
Stephanie is also the current Chair of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA), a platform made up of 56 audiovisual regulators from all over Europe. Within this platform, she coordinates the EMIL network, EPRA's media literacy taskforce for media education.
Question: Is media literacy considered a useful resource for contributing to a more critical and resilient society across Europe?
Answer: Across Europe, there is broad recognition that media literacy can empower citizens and communities to be more resilient and to thrive in today’s digitally driven, information-rich societies. Reflecting this, an increasing number of media regulators are being granted legal powers to promote media literacy alongside their traditional regulatory roles. For example, in Ireland, CnaM now has a statutory duty to support media literacy research and initiatives.
European institutions, such as the Council of Europe and the European Commission, have also acknowledged media and information literacy as essential to democratic renewal. An illustration of this is the EU Horizon Research programme’s recent €12 million call for projects focused on digital and media literacy as foundations for democratic and civic resilience.
Q. Is MIL having a real impact on the implementation of educational policies in Europe (for instance, through the presence of MIL in school curricula)?
A. I believe that Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is having a real, measurable impact on European educational policies, though implementation varies widely by country.
MIL predominantly remains a cross-disciplinary competence that can be acquired across all subjects and all levels of education. However, the guidelines and frameworks vary significantly from one country to another, between urban or rural sites within the same country and from one educational institution or even classroom to another.
This is one of the findings from the TeamLIT project which was looking at Media and Information Literacy (MIL) education and training for teachers in six European countries: Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Lithuania, and the Netherlands.
Q. How has interest in MIL been transformed into collaborative, multi-stakeholder and multi-level spaces, such as EPRA and its EMIL network?
A. I think it all started with the perception of the increased relevance of MIL to regulators and the fact that MIL activity is complementary to regulators’ functions. In addition, came the understanding that media literacy is a multistakeholder area by excellence requiring collaboration with a range of cross-sector stakeholders and strategic coordination. Media regulators are particularly well positioned to show leadership and coordinate activity. Several regulators also facilitate a national media literacy network. Network facilitation and coordination is a natural role for EPRA – our network of 56 media regulatory authorities which was created in 1995. This is based on these premises that we started to engage in the field of media literacy, first by mapping the MIL activities of our members (2017), then we created an informal MIL Taskforce in 2018. During Covid, we organized online network roundtables and in 2021 this was formalised in EMIL, EPRA’s Media Literacy Taskforce with the aim of creating a community of media regulators and media literacy practitioners to exchange and learn and be inspired from each other. We meet every three months for informal 2-hour meetings to cover a broad range of MIL-related topics.
Q. As EMIL coordinator, what evolution have you observed in the types of initiatives and topics of concern addressed in the Taskforce?
A. Over time topics have changed, we could witness the development of a strong focus on disinformation issues. Lately, AI literacy and algorithm literacy are very topical.
Also, we could witness a growing understanding of the need for more coordination in the field of media literacy. Developing MIL literacy strategies and policies can be a real help when they are based on robust consultation processes and adequately resourced as shown by the recent Media Education Policy in Finland.
The Council of Europe has also recently published helpful guidelines providing member states with practical guidance and indicators on developing and implementing national MIL strategies, aiming to support them in effectively responding to the transformations in the media and information ecosystem brought about by the digital era.
Q. What is CNAM’s general remit of competences in MIL, and what are some examples of its initiatives? What are CNAM’s current priorities regarding MIL in relation to schools and teachers?
A. Supporting the development of media literacy and creating or co-creating user education materials is a key aspect of Coimisiún na Meán’s media literacy work. In the last year we have published an information pack for election candidates, to support safe participation in political life and another pack for journalists, to help counter the threats and abuse that journalists can be exposed to online. These media literacy initiatives sought to empower political representatives and journalists with the skills and knowledge to exercise their rights under the Online Safety Framework and specifically to report illegal and harmful content when encountered online. By empowering these groups, we seek to contribute to strong participation in political life and in the media and ultimately trust in the media and democracy.
We have also developed a number of partnerships on educational resources. Over the past year, Comisiún na Méan has supported the development and launch of the Irish Internet Safety Centre Webwise's new Switched on digital citizenship programme and News Mag’s Media Matters media literacy series, for upper primary school pupils. Both of these resources have included modules on mis- and disinformation and evaluating and validating different media sources and thus have sought to support citizens’ confidence and ability to assess information. Separately, we have also worked collaboratively with the Financial Literacy team in the Department of Finance in their efforts to support people’s awareness, knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour in relation to money and to counter financial fraud.
In 2026, we have also launched media literacy funding schemes. These funding schemes are part of the implementation of the National Counter Disinformation Strategy and seek to support media literacy activities that help counter disinformation. In total, more than €300,000 has been allocated to fund media literacy projects that align with the strategy. Funding strands include the Media Literacy Countering Disinformation Micro Fund scheme, intended to support in-person community-based events, on a local level across the country and the Media Literacy Countering Disinformation Innovation Fund, intended to support collaborative innovation projects on a regional and national level. This funding should see an increase in the number of media literacy training events and projects that will support citizen’s trust, confidence and ability to assess information.
Finally, we have continued our extensive support of our multi-stakeholder network Media Literacy Ireland, which we fund and facilitate. Media Literacy Ireland (MLI) is an independent alliance of people and organisations working together on a voluntary basis to promote media literacy in Ireland. Be Media Smart is a national media literacy campaign from Media Literacy Ireland which encourages people to ‘Stop, Think and Check’ the accuracy and reliability of the information they encounter in their reading, viewing, or listening activities, from whatever source. The Be Media Smart website provides members of the public with easily accessible tips, guidance and advice on how to ‘Stop, Think and Check’ that information is accurate and reliable, as well as signposting to additional sources of support. In 2024 and 2025, the Be Media Smart campaign was used as inspiration for the EDMO-led ‘Be Election Smart’ campaigns, which encouraged people to get accurate and reliable information about elections in the run up to local, European, general and presidential elections. The Be Election Smart campaigns were supported in Ireland by MLI and EDMO-Ireland. In 2026, Coimisiún na Meán adapted the 'Stop, Think, Check' poster and posted hard copies to primary and secondary schools in Ireland to celebrate Safer Internet Day.
Q. Based on your expertise, what should be the role of media regulators in shaping education policies at both national and European levels?
A. I think it depends very much on the national or regional situations. Many of our media regulators do not directly engage in shaping education policies. However, I believe they can play a very important role as facilitators by bringing together MIL practitioners, regional and local authorities, media and platforms.
Q. What do you foresee as the main MIL challenges facing media regulators in the near future (e.g., digital well-being and problematic screen use, age verification, data protection, etc.)?
A. The challenges are complex, multifaceted and they keep changing along with the quick-paced technology. For instance, there are currently some concerns emerging about the use of AI chatbots as friends by children and young people.
Actually, I can see two main challenges facing media regulators:
The first challenge is to separate issues at stake and recognise that MIL is not a silver bullet. Some issues cannot be tackled by media literacy alone but are clearly a matter for regulatory action or safety-by-design measures taken by online platforms.
The most difficult challenge, however, is probably achieving consistency over time. Media literacy is a lifelong learning process, and it needs time and resources just as education does. This may not be popular in a polarized environment with geopolitical tensions and competition for resources where quick-fix measures are given priority.