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INSIGHT


‘‘ MILA Update


Developing the evidence base S


INCE its inception in 2021, the Media and Information Literacy Alliance (MILA) has sought to help develop the evidence base by


bringing together stakeholders representing different areas of expertise. It has played this role in the recently-completed project on Evaluating Media Literacy with a Theory of Change (https://bit.ly/43kZX6z). This project, funded by the UK government and led by the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice (CEMP) at Bournemouth University, involved MILA as a critical partner, contributing to the elaboration of a robust evaluation framework for measuring the impact of media literacy interventions. The project drew from research into around 30 current or recent media literacy initiatives in the UK. The framework could easily apply to information literacy too, as the concepts relating to both literacies – for instance, critical thinking about online information and challenging disinformation – are closely aligned.


The Alliance’s involvement in this project is a pointer to future such activities. MILA has joined with other partners in two current proposals: CIVI-UP, a proposed participatory action research project to motivate media literacy for resilience through agency among refugee youth in Europe. This bid, from an international consortium also led by Bournemouth University, is in response to a call from the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF).


The second proposal, submitted to the Economic and Social Research Council, is for a project to establish a research centre on the influence industries and emerging technologies. This is part of an ambitious undertaking, involving several universities in the UK and Australia, to run over five years. The outcome of the


54 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL


two bids will be known over the coming months. Although MILA is not the leading partner, it was invited in both cases to take part, in recognition of its growing credibility.


Ultimately, it is hoped that MILA will be able to take a lead in projects and other activities, to play more than a supporting role. Achieving this should be easier once it evolves from its current status as a loose grouping into a formally-constituted body. MILA is now taking steps to become a charitable incorporated organisation. It is working on defining its charitable objectives and setting out a constitution, to be submitted later in the year to the Charity Commission, and on appointing Trustees.


Achieving charitable status can be a lengthy process, but once this is done, MILA’s credibility will be enhanced, and it will have the means to run its own finances. Mechanisms will be put in place to ensure that it reflects multiple communities with an interest in media and information literacy; and it is expected that CILIP and the CILIP Information Literacy Group will continue playing a key role in the Alliance’s future development. Until then, MILA continues to engage with different sectors. Advocacy directed at the world of politics and policy-making remains vital, and the Alliance has resumed its dialogue with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Media Literacy. The Group is planning an awareness-raising event at Westminster for MPs and Peers, sometime before the summer break (at time of writing, we do not yet have a confirmed date), and MILA will contribute to this.


Other new interactions have taken place for instance with Arts Council England, with which MILA is exploring the possibility of securing small-scale


Stéphane Goldstein is Executive Director of InformAll. He is the coordinator for MILA and Advocacy and Outreach Officer for CILIP’s Information Literacy Group.


seed funding; with The Economist Educational Foundation; and with the Media Education Association. Importantly, MILA remains in frequent touch with Ofcom and with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which has taken over from DCMS as the government department responsible for the implementation of the UK’s national Online Media Literacy Strategy.


Recent relevant activities by other players are too numerous to list, but it is worth mentioning a couple of initiatives from organisations represented on the MILA Board. Wikimedia UK has produced a report (https://bit.ly/3IYkOV0) on the impact of its own information literacy work on citizen engagement. And the Patient Information Forum has published its Health and Digital Literacy Survey 2022-23 (https://bit. ly/3NdGgIc), highlighting the challenges faced in developing health literacy for large segments of the UK population. To keep up to date with such developments, and with MILA news, please feel free to join the MILA mailing list, at https://mila.org.uk/contact/ IP


June 2023


MILA is now taking steps to become a charitable incorporated organisation.


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