Nordicom will establish a new forum to identify and coordinate researchers in MIL – media and information literacy. The venture is part of the national MIL Sweden Network launched by the Swedish Media Council upon the commission of the Government in Sweden.
In spring 2020, Nordicom became a member of the newly established network MIK Sverige, led by the Swedish Media Council (Statens medieråd in Swedish). The network was launched in 2019 by the commission of the Swedish Government to develop media and information literacy in Sweden by identifying and coordinating actors and initiatives in a field that is well known for its diversity.
The members of the MIK Sverige Network represent public authorities and policymakers, promoting different types of MIL that range from information literacy to film education. However, the network does not directly involve universities and research centres in the area. To form a channel and forum for questions related to MIL research and development, Nordicom was assigned to work as a founder and coordinator of an academic network that would function as part of the national network.
This academic platform within the MIK Sverige Network is called the Academic Forum for MIL Research, or, in Swedish, which is the working language of the forum, Akademiskt forum för MIK-forskning.
The objective of the Academic Forum is to gather academic actors at the same table and, this way, enable answering questions related to research in a more effective way: Has a specific question related to children’s media use, or a specific medium or theme, been studied before? How has a specific form of media and information literacy been researched in Sweden? Where – in which academic disciplines and at which universities and research centres – can experts in a selected area be found?
Before these new networks, which are currently at the stage of emergence, there has not been any centrally organised national forum for MIL stakeholders in Sweden. The Academic Forum for MIL Research will be established during the 2020 fall semester.
At NordMedia Network, we will keep following the development of the Academic Forum and the MIK Sverige Network. More information about the Academic Forum for MIL Research can be found at the Swedish forum page at NordMedia Network.
Photo: Enrique Saldivar, CC BY-NC-SA