Our lives are now so saturated with information and media that the ability to use media effectively is a pre-requisite for full participation in society.
Media literacy refers to people’s ability to critically engage with information and media in all aspects of their life. At the heart of this critical engagement is the ability to critique media and information as well as media technologies and business models. This includes knowing the way these produce, challenge and subvert relationships, representations and power.
We conducted the first national media literacy survey of adult Australians and found that although most people believe that media literacy is critical to many aspects of their life, many have no access to support when they need it.
This symposium includes synchronous events in Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra. Each event features a panel discussion with researchers and practitioners about the state of media literacy in Australia. Key findings from our research will follow the panel discussion.
We hope that these events will help to build momentum and support collaboration to ensure that media literacy research can inform policy and practice at a time when media literacy is now on the Australia policy agenda.
The speakers will discuss how media literacy research can help to address key challenges we face in Australian society including the widespread online circulation of misinformation, social and racial inequality, and a lack of trust in our democratic systems.
Tuesday 13 April 2021 – Program
11.00 – 12.00: International Keynote, Associate Professor Paul Mihailidis
12.00 – 12.30: Lunch
12.30 – 2.00: Panel – Media Literacy’s many tasks – promoting critical engagement with digital platforms
- Media literacy after dark: how hyperpartisans pervert critical engagement (Axel Bruns)
- The state of play of media literacy education in Australian Schools (Moneth Montemayor).
- Thinking through TikTok: A framework for platform literacy (Aleesha Rodriguez)
- First Draft’s vaccine misinformation Hub and Dashboard for media literacy (Anne Kruger)
2:00 – 2.30: Afternoon tea
2:30 – 3.30: ‘Media Literacy in Australia’ Report Launch
Opening remarks by Professor Patrik Wikstrom, Director of the Digital Media Research Centre, QUT (Brisbane) Presentation by Professor Michael Dezuanni
For more information about the speakers and to download the full program see: https://tinyurl.com/1mhot6k8
Registration via Eventbrite.
Location available on registration.
For more info about this event contact Professor Michael Dezuanni (m.dezuanni@qut.edu.au)