#the project

In the light of current global health crisis and military conflicts, the media play a key role in documenting events and ensuring the information flow between information sources, including government or policymakers and citizens. Given the urgency for having the latest and updated piece of information and pressure in newsrooms, fighting against message decontextualization and misinformation through literacy has been more and more in demand.

The YO-MEDIA project aims to fill the gap in the information about media literacy in times of crisis, e.g., outbreak crisis and military/war conflicts. The research question is ‘In what way can game-playing foster youngsters’ media literacy in times of crisis?,’ and a mixed-method approach is, therefore, followed. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are combined to assess the feasibility of game-playing to create awareness of misinformation through learning by doing and doing by playing.

The project comprises the following research activities: Reviewing the literature on Media Literacy in times of crisis; Interviewing professors, journalists and other stakeholders, Design Thinking and validating a course with stakeholders; Co-designing hybrid games with youngsters aged 16-18, Implementing a massive open online course for media awareness, and Assessing the feasibility of the adopted strategies.

The YO-MEDIA’s expected result is to create youngsters’ awareness and knowledge in assessing the reliability of information accessed or shared in the media. Also, it targets teachers, non-formal educators, journalists, and media professionals by contributing to their professional skills in promoting media literacy in crises through innovative digital environments such as games, training frameworks, and pilot actions.

#ontheroad

Participation of the Yo-Media Team on the European Media and Information Annual Conference on 2th December 2022, at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal, with the motto “Funding the Fight Against Disinformation”.

The Yo-Media project was presented, on 13th January 2022, to Mário Campolargo, the Portuguese State Secretary for Digitalization and Administrative Modernization, at the University of Aveiro.

First event, held online on 29th May 2023, open to general public, to present Yo-Media project goals and the activities performed in the first six months between the Portuguese Press Editors and Publishers Association, Aveiro Media Competence Center, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and Universitat de Vic – Central de Catalunya.

The Portuguese Press Editors and Publishers Association and Aveiro Media Competence Center were on the FIPP World Media Congress, held on Citadel of Cascais, Portugal, during the 6th and 8th of June,  with a presentation about the importance of media literacy, mentioning the Yo-Media project on stage.

Google Cloud Day Lisbon 2023 took place on the 22nd of June at Centro de Congressos do Estoril, where YO-Media team had the opportunity to learn from experts, explore the latest Cloud tools and discover new trends and technologies

The YO MEDIA team from UCSC participated in the National Conference of SIREM (Italian Research Society in Media Education) in Rome, Italy, from August 30th to September 1st, 2023.

The YO MEDIA team from UCSC participated in the ISYDE (Italian Symposium on Digital Education) in Reggio, Italy, from September 13 to 15, 2023.

The YO MEDIA team from UCSC participated in the MEC 2023 – Media Education Conference in Sallatunturin, Finland, from September 25 to 27, 2023.

YO-MEDIA team participated in the conference Digital Games Research Association (DIGRA) that was held at the University of Seville, from June 19-23, 2023.

A 2 hour-long workshop for the YO-MEDIA team on designing game teaching curricula that carefully ensures the preparedness for crisis scenarios was held on the 28th of June, 2023,  in the University of Aveiro at DigiMedia’s research centre.

On July 4th, a 2-hour long workshop for scholars on the use of board games to teach how to fight human and animal coronaviruses was held at the University of Bath at the event EVOKE 2023.

On July 4th, a 2-hour long workshop with ten scholars, including professors and researchers interested in evolutionary biology, was conducted in the University of Bath during the event EvoKE (Evolutionary Knowledge for Everyone) 2023

From July 10th to 13th, 2023, seventeen highschool students participated in the University of Aveiro’s summer school, where a series of activities regarding Biology and Video Games awaited them.

MediaTrust.Lab “Jornalismo de Proximidade e Audiências” Seminar at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Coimbra, on 14th June 2023.

On November 10th, 2023, the YO MEDIA team participated in ECREA Digital Games Research Section symposium at the King Juan Carlos University &  Complutense University of Madrid.

The YO MEDIA team from UVIC-UCC actively participated in ICON2023, the II INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS: EDUCATION AND KNOWLEDGE held in Alicante, Spain, from June 1 to 2, 2023.

 

“The mechanics of video games adapt very well to the communicative characteristics of new generations · This makes them first-rate educational tools”, by Pere Millan, VilaWeb

(Dis)information, Citizenship and Democracy in Europe was the theme of the presentation held by Professor Nelson Zagalo during the 7th National Media Education Meeting that occurred on the 9th of May in the Vila Nova da Barquinha School Group.

The Yo-Media team, represented by Alessandra Carenzio, Ruth Contreras, Liliana Costa, Oksana Tymoshchuk, Frederico Proença and Ana Rita Passos, took part in two panels in the National Press Day 2024, that occurred in the 16th and 17th of May in the Fado Museum, Lisbon.

 

Alessandra Carenzio, from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, participated on the Italian Symposium on Digital Education (ISYDE) on behalf of Yo-Media.

The Data Defenders game, being developed under the Yo-Media project by the game designer Frederico Proença and game artist Ana Passos, was tested and played by students at the 2024 Summer Academy of University of Aveiro.

(Dis)information, Citizenship and Democracy in Europe was the theme of the presentation held by Professor Nelson Zagalo during the 7th National Media Education Meeting that occurred on the 9th of May in the Vila Nova da Barquinha School Group.

The Yo-Media team, represented by Alessandra Carenzio, Ruth Contreras, Liliana Costa, Oksana Tymoshchuk, Frederico Proença and Ana Rita Passos, took part in two panels in the National Press Day 2024, that occurred in the 16th and 17th of May in the Fado Museum, Lisbon.

 

Alessandra Carenzio, from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, participated on the Italian Symposium on Digital Education (ISYDE) on behalf of Yo-Media.

#activities

In this activity, the use of media literacy in times of crisis will be mapped by identifying the use of games and other media in crisis communication, using content and pragmatic analysis of learning programs and syllabus…

In this activity, a minimum of 30 project stakeholders including professors, journalists, among other stakeholders with background on media studies, games, and crisis management will be performed…

#activities

Group workshops are carried out to design a course and program on media literacy considering the benchmarking and literature review. Pilot actions with more young people and professionals…

A hybrid game (digital/physical) facilitating the educational process and promoting young people’s skills in critical analysis of information/news (TRL 6-8) is being developed…

Another outcome of this research project is the development of a MOOC for media awareness, addressed to high-school teachers, journalists, and media…

The purpose of this activity is to assess the feasibility of the strategies adopted in terms of the learning outcomes, game user experience and media literacy awareness…

#publications

PUBLICATION

Costa, L., Proença, F., Passos, A., Zagalo, N., Nogueira, T., Duarte, M., Ortet, C. (2023, April 12-15).

Designing for Viral Infection Awareness through PLAYMUTATION. CUMULUS Connectivity, and Creativity in times of Conflict – Nature positive/Design for Transformation, CUMULUS Association International Association of Universities and College of Arts, Design and Media, Proceedings Series Nº 9, University of Antwerp, p.181-184. ISBN 978-94-0149-676XX

COMMUNICATION

Tymoshchuk, O., Antunes, M.J., Nelson Zagalo, N.; Vale Costa, L.

Yo-media: explorando os desafios de promoção da literacia mediática dos jovens em tempos de crise. Abstract submitted to Seminário MediaTrust.Lab: “Jornalismo de Proximidade e Audiências”, Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Coimbra, June 14, 2023

Ruth S. Contreras Espinosa , Jose Luis Eguia Gomez , Emiliano Labrador

Digital games to spot and fight disinformation. Communication presented at ICON2023, INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS: EDUCATION AND KNOWLEDGE, on June 2, 2023 (https://icon.kiobus.org/edu/). P. 370, ISBN:9788419690975

A. Carenzio, S. Ferrari, S. Pasta

Giochi e videogiochi per contrastare la disinformazione: esempi e proposte nell’ambito del progetto Yo-Media. Abstract submitted to Convegno annuale SIREM “New literacies – nuovi linguaggi e nuove competenze” in Rome, Italy, 30 August 2023.

 

PUBLICATION

A. Carenzio, S. Ferrari, S. Pasta

Games and video games as scenarios to support digital literacies: the first results from the international project YO-MEDIA.  Abstract submitted to ISYDE (Italian Symposium on Digital Education), in the conference “Innovating Teaching & Learning. Inclusion and Wellbeing for the Data Society” in Reggio, Italy, Sept. 13 to 15, 2023. 

PUBLICATION

A. Carenzio, S. Ferrari, S. Pasta

Media Literacy in times of crisis: first results of the YO-MEDIA project (Youngsters’ Media Literacy in Times of Crisis) handling the voice of educators, teachers, and journalists.

Abstract submited to MEC 2023 “Media Education Meets Wilderness”, Sallatunturin, Finland, September 25 to 27.

Contreras-Espinosa, R.S.; Eguia-Gomez, J.L.

Evaluating Video Games as Tools for Education on Fake News and Misinformation.

Computers 2023, 12, 188. 

Contreras-Espinosa, R.S.; Eguia-Gomez, J.L.

Games for Media Literacy: Detecting and Combating Disinformation. Communication presented at ECREA Digital Games Research Section Symposium, on November 9, 2023 . 

PUBLICATION

A. Carenzio, S. Ferrari, S. Pasta

Games and video games as scenarios to support digital literacies: the first results from the international project YO-MEDIA.  Abstract submitted to ISYDE (Italian Symposium on Digital Education), in the conference “Innovating Teaching & Learning. Inclusion and Wellbeing for the Data Society” in Reggio, Italy, Sept. 13 to 15, 2023. 

PUBLICATION

A. Carenzio, S. Ferrari, S. Pasta

Media Literacy in times of crisis: first results of the YO-MEDIA project (Youngsters’ Media Literacy in Times of Crisis) handling the voice of educators, teachers, and journalists.

Abstract submited to MEC 2023 “Media Education Meets Wilderness”, Sallatunturin, Finland, September 25 to 27.

#team

Portuguese Press Editors and Publishers Association

President

José Sousa

Vice-President

University of Aveiro

Nelson Zagalo

Associate Professor

Liliana Costa

Researcher

Maria João Antunes

Assistant Professor

Oksana Tymoshchuk

Researcher

University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia

Dr. Ruth Contreras-Espinosa

Professor and Researcher

Ignasi Coll Parra

Professor

Dr. Jordi Solé Casals

Full Professor and Researcher

Dr. Jose Luis Eguia-Gomez

Associate Professor

Catholic University of the Sacred Heart

Alessandra Carenzio

Associate Professor

Simona Ferrari

Associate Professor

Stefano Pasta

University Researcher


Federica Pelizzari

Docente a Contrato

Aveiro Media Competence Center

João Moraes Palmeiro

Executive Director

Nadine Santos

Project Associate

Head of PMO and Operations

#partners

Consortium composed by :

Financed by :

The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the author(s) and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.

#newsletter