Winners of first Media Literacy Awards announced

The winners of a new awards programme to recognise media literacy in Ireland have been announced, with the Journal, Webwise and Kavaleer Productions among the recipients.

The Media Literacy Awards, which are run by Media Literacy Ireland and supported by new media regulator Coimisiún na Meán, are designed to raise awareness of the importance of media literacy, acknowledging the existing media literacy work in Ireland and fuel the development of new initiatives across Ireland.

The award categories include best youth-led media literacy intervention, best media literacy intervention, media literacy media champion, and MLI member special contribution.

The award for best youth-led media literacy intervention went to Learning Waves’ TY Media Week project, which involves training transition year students in media literacy and creating two hours of radio on their local or regional radio station.

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Best media literacy invention went to animated series Alva’s World, a show aimed at pre-school children produced by Irish animation studio Kavaleer Productions.

The Journal FactCheck Team was named Media Literacy Media Champion, with the judges citing its use of innovative content and outreach to address complex media literacy issues.

The MLI Member Special Contribution went to Webwise, the Irish Internet Safety Awareness Centre. The organisation promotes the effective, and safer use of the internet by young people through a sustained information and awareness strategy targeting parents, teachers, and children themselves with consistent and relevant messages.

A fifth category, the Judges Special Recognition Award, is given to an entry the panel believe deserves special recognition for their work in promoting media literacy in Ireland. The judging panel, which included MLI co-chair Stephanie Comey, vice-chair Eileen Culloty, and Ross Keane, a member of the MLI steering group, awarded the special recognition award to Joseph Hoban, for his contribution to the promotion of media literacy in Ireland through his role in the development of the Be Media Smart campaign. Mr Hoban is head of brand projects, partnerships and events for RTÉ and a former MLI Steering Group member.

“These awards are an opportunity for the media literacy community in Ireland to recognise the excellent work being done by a broad range of people and organisations to help empower citizens with the skills and knowledge to make the very best use of digital media today,” said Professor Brian O’Neill, Co-Chair of MLI. “It’s wonderful to see the breadth and depth of the interventions.”