OBJECTIVE 1: Providing media literacy tools to promote mindful and responsible media consumption and production. This is directly connected to the ADU priority “Improving the availability of high-quality, flexible and recognized learning for adults,” as it will create an innovative curriculum to develop and strengthen media education and awareness in line with both European and CML (Center for Media Literacy) Guidelines and Frameworks. OBJECTIVE 2: raising awareness and fighting Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV). TFGBV is any violent act that is committed, assisted, aggravated, or amplified by the use of technologies or other digital tools that is directed against women because they are women and/or that affects women disproportionately. This is directly connected to the transversal priority “Inclusion and diversity”. TFGBV is defined by UN Women as a violation of Human Rights that «can restrict the online activity of women and girls and inhibit their access to the Internet—increasing the digital gender divide and restricting women’s voices in public participation […] and can also exacerbate offline forms of violence». These are the points of view considered in MEDEA: Awareness and Action.
We applied for the project because we believe that media and news are subject to all the characteristics of the consumption process, which is vital to assessing the quality of the information we receive and discerning the interests, motives, and biases that underlie communication. The lack of critical thinking competencies among young adults is empirically evident to trainers and educators across Europe. It poses a threat to the ability to make informed decisions, which lies at the heart of all democratic and truth-assessing processes. Moreover, the European Parliament had long recognized the need to address misinformation through legislation and initiatives. 74% women in Europe have experienced online GBV at least once, in the prevalent forms of misinformation, defamation, cyber harassment, hate speech (“Measuring”, 2021). Regarding national situations, the Italian observatory “Vox Diritti” reported that hate speech against women accounted for 63% of hateful tweets in 2019. The 2022 “State of Revenge” survey found that 131 Telegram channels that spread nonconsensual pornographic material were active in Italy, the biggest of which counted 540.000 members. 2022 saw a 21% increase in this channel compared to 2021.