Since June, the Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish Governments have taken initiatives to increase MIL among all citizens – regarding it as lifelong learning. The Swedish initiatives are rooted in a knowledge overview about MIL by UNESCO Professor Ulla Carlsson, published by Nordicom on behalf of the Ministry of Culture. MIL in Finland and Norway is also covered in the report.
Finland: New media policy programme to strengthen MIL
Strengthening MIL, and counteracting disinformation and networking, are two goals in the Government's Media Policy Programme 2019-2023. Among the measures are: updating the National Policy Guidelines 2013-2016 for media literacy; directing efforts concerning new groups such as adults and special groups; and accentuating MIL in the education of professionals, especially teachers and other educators. Actions against hate speech are to be reviewed within the framework of the National Action Plan on Fundamental and Human Rights.
Norway: MIL - a priority area for the Media Authority
In the Norwegian Media Authority’s regulation letter for 2018, MIL is emphasized as one of the most important initiatives for 2018. According to a new strategic plan (in Norwegian), the Media Authority's MIL actions, previously limited to children and young people, should promote democracy and freedom of expression through supporting media diversity and critical media understanding in the whole population; i.e., the authority has the task to guide all sectors of the population to increase media literacy.
Sweden: Two new national MIL initiatives
In August, the Swedish Government decided on a national initiative to increase MIL (Swedish), commissioned to a special investigator, to increase people's resilience to disinformation, propaganda, and hate speech online.
As there is also a need for an authority with a permanent task to work long-term with MIL, the Government has commissioned the Swedish Media Council (in Swedish) to develop "forms of enhanced cooperation of efforts for MIL". The two government assignments are to be reported on in October 2020 and May 2019, respectively.
MIL is also included in a national strategy for a strong democracy (in Swedish) decided by the Government on 20 June. The strategy states that, ultimately, MIL is about maintaining a sustainable democracy and safeguarding the respect for freedom of expression; it also makes reference to a future MIL organization.
Eva Harrie