The second Media Meets Literacy conference at Sarajevo (MMLS), organized by the Evens Foundation and its partners – European Commission, Mediacentar Sarajevo and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, explored the crucial question of media literacy at a time when information literacy and critical thinking toward the media are more crucial than ever.
The gathering began in the morning of 21 September with a keynote speech, Q&A, a debate, and a series of parallel breakout sessions (workshops, presentations, debates) where media professionals suggested ways of tackling the challenges of our post-factual media landscape. In the evening, the Award Ceremony of the Evens Prize for Media Education 2017 took place.
Projects from Italy and Croatia won the Evens Prize for Media Education 2017 for exciting approach to media literacy. The main prize has been awarded to Zalab, Rome, Italy for its Project Otherness. The jury also awarded a Special Jury Prize, which went to the Association for Communication and Media Culture in Zagreb, Croatia for its project Djeca medija (Children of Media).
A morning plenary on 22 September was followed by a dozen of 10-minute presentations where educators, entrepreneurs, academics and policymakers shared their knowledge of and insights into media and information literacy.
Media Meets Literacy in Sarajevo 2017 was preceded by two days of seminars on contemporary propaganda that aimed to raise awareness about the power of contemporary propaganda and introduce practical strategies to promote critical thinking about propaganda. At a time of rampant populism, xenophobia, fake news and stereotyping, the seminars, led by Prof. Renee Hobbs and Igor Kanizaj, provided students, educators and other professionals with innovative educational models and resources.
