Media Literacy in Greece during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In the digital knowledge economy, especially in times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, media literacy, apart from being known as a key element for a critical analysis of the news and information ecosystem, is hastily upgraded as a viable solution for e-learning, distance education, homeschooling, and home entertainment for children and youth, as well as a tool for work from home, e-business, and e-coaching for adults. From a definitional point of view, media literacy is an umbrella concept that expands cross-thematically to various areas of knowledge, communication, and information. Thus, a preferred policy framework would be a combination of an intersectoral developmental agenda that, like concentric circles –—spinning in different directions simultaneously—–engages social, educational, media, and civic duties. Such duties may be the right to freedom of expression, the right to seek valuable information and content, and the right to access and evaluate it toward UNESCO-led Media and Information Literacy (MIL) societies. This paper focuses on the Greek reaction to the pandemic with regard to media and digital literacy toward setting a sustainable policy infrastructure, inspired by the vast challenges and policies driven on an EU level that favor media literacy.