Mediakasvatus

Media education and media literacy

Media literacy - definitions
Media education in Finland
Projects
Societies & associations in Finland
Authorities and institutions in Finland

MEDIA LITERACY - DEFINITIONS

"Media literacy is the ability to access , understand and critically evaluate different aspects of the media and media content and communicate in a variety of contexts. It relates to all media, including television and film, radio and recorded music, print media, the internet and all other digital technologies." (EU comission, 2009)

"Media literacy is the process of analyzing, evaluating and creating messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres and forms. It uses an inquiry-based instructional model that encourages people to ask questions about what they watch, see, and read." (Wikipedia, 2009)

Finnish language, Mediakasvatus (Media Education) is an established term that stands for work performed by educators in supporting the learning of children, young people and adults involving different media. This educational work may include both teaching about the media and through media, which means that media can be involved as a learning object or teaching tool as well as educational content itself. The objective of media education is an individual with media literacy skills and who is able to utilize as well as produce media, to understand media production and expressions of media, to reflect on his personal relationship with media and to apply critical thinking as well as embrace self-expression.

MEDIA EDUCATION IN FINLAND

	Media education in Finland - approaches in culture and education (PDF) This publication takes a review of the recent guidelines and practices in the media education field in Finland. The object of this publication is to reveal those areas of media education that are subject to development and to create a basis for more extensive international cooperation.
	Media education in Finland - Best Practises (PDF) This brochure highlights some successful Finnish projects and innovations that have furthered the cause of national media education. Some of these projects have concluded but they have brought into being permanent practices and guides, which support the professionals operating in the field.

More information:

Kupiainen, R., Sintonen, S., Suoranta, J. 2008. Decades of Finnish Media Education (PDF)
Merilampi Ritva-Sini. 2002. School in the Grips of Change - Media Education in Finland (Web article)
European comission. 2007. Media literacy country profile: Finland.

Media education at school

Media education is an important part of the Finnish teaching and education system. It is carried out in day-care centres, elementary schools and upper secondary education. Media education is not a subject but a point of emphasis in teaching and education. The training of people in the education and teaching field is constantly being developed because of the evolution of media and the need for new media skills. In the compulsory or upper secondary school curriculum ratified in 2004, media education has been integrated into one crosscurricular theme. Cross-curricular themes are points of emphasis in teaching and education that include content which is connected to many different subjects.
More information:
Finnish media education at school, page 9. (PDF).
National Board of Education -information about education system

Media education in early childhood and care
Media education in early childhood education has advanced considerably in the 21st century. It is focused on developing a child’s capacity to live within the media culture and the understanding of the child’s own relationship with the media, taking into account the age and developmental stage of the child. The
Ministry of Education’s Media Muffin –project, which was carried out in 2006–2007 in co-operation with The National Institute for Health and Welfare produced a national guideline for media education. The guideline was published as a guide booklet that was mailed to all day-care centres in Finland. In 2009, a guide describing the media education themes for pre-primary and pre-school education was also published.
More information:
Finnish media education in early childhood and care, page 10 (PDF).

Youth information and counselling work in Finland
The Finnish youth information and counselling work has been strongly influenced by the Finnish Youth Act of 2006, by the European Union’s White Paper on youth policy, by the Council of Europe Recommendation No: R (90)7 concerning information and counselling for young people in Europe, by the Resolution CM/Res (2008)23 on the youth policy of the Council of Europe and by the European Youth Information and Counselling Agency ERYICA´s Charter, which all emphasises the right of young people to receive information, their right to be heard and the importance of young people’s active participation. These documents also underline the idea of peer-to-peer information and the importance of reliable and understandable information.
Read more:
Youth information and counselling work in Finland (PDF)

MEDIA EDUCATION PROJECTS IN FINLAND

Here you can download project descriptions as Word-documents. We were collecting project descriptions about Finnish projects during the fall 2008.

More information about projects can be found in a brochure Media Education in Finland - Best Practises.

SOCITIES AND ASSOCIATIONS

Finnish Society on Media Education
The Finnish Society on Media Education, founded in 2005 by Finnish researchers and practitioners of media education, is an association operating nation-wide with two main languages (Finnish and Swedish). In 2009 the main financier of the activity is the Ministry of Education. Our aim is to support and develop the field of research and practices concerning media education, contribute to the public debate and provide opportunities to share media educational experiences online and offline. Contact.

Media Education Centre Metka
Media Education Centre Metka is an organization that operates nationally and promotes media education, especially through film. Metka offers schoolings and workshops for children, young people, teachers and actors working with children and young people. Contact.

Koulukino – School Cinema Association
School Cinema Association offers schools and school classes the possibility to see a film in the film theater. On the website www.koulukino.fi you can choose a suitable film for your class or school and afterwards with the help of the study material related to the film discuss it in the class. Contact.

The Finnish Film Contact
The Finnish Film Contact, Suomen elokuvakontakti is a non-profitable distribution association. Today FFC has over 900 short and documentary films in our catalogue. Most of them are Finnish. Finnish Film Contact rents movies on film and video copies.90 % of rented films are children films. The biggest customers are community centres, kindergartens, schools, non-commercial film clubs and regional film centres. FFC also work closely with a number of film festivals in Finland.

Centre for School Clubs
Centre for School Clubs, i.e. Kerhokeskus - koulutyön tuki ry, promotes and supports the welfare and development of children and young people in Finland. The organization develops and produces services and content for club and education services, before and after school activities, hobby activities, culture and science education, citizenship and media education and entrepreneurship education. Contact.

Finnish Library Association
Finnish Library Association is an idealistic organization who wish to develop library services. The association organizes campaigns, education courses, theme days, meetings, runs projects, participates actively in topical debates and arranges study trips to Finnish libraries for foreign scholarship-holders and study tours abroad for members. Furthermore they publish the magazine Kirjastolehti, posters, brochures and other publications. Contact.

Finnish Book Foundation
The Finnish Book Publishers Association is a non-profit cooperation body which promotes the common interests of its members as well as publishing, the distribution of literature, reading and freedom to publish in Finland. The Association offers its members services such as general lobbying, counseling, information, publications, Helsinki Book Fair, PR campaigns, international relations and much more. Contact.

Finnish Newspaper Association
The Finnish Newspapers Association is a branch organization for newspapers and newspaper publishers. It is a member of the Federation of the Finnish Media Industry that safeguards the common interests of the media branch. The main task of the association is to improve the facilities and competitiveness for newspapers so that they will continue to be a leading medium in Finland. The association represents newspapers among others in the following areas: freedom of speech, distribution, media marketing and newspapers in education. Contact.

Finnish Periodical Publishers’ Association
FPPA represents all magazine categories in Finland: consumer magazines, business and association magazines and customer magazines. The work of the association aims to better the economical situation of member publishers. Special tasks of the association includes overseeing the trusteeship of the branch, strengthening the image of the periodical magazine, marketing, research and communication, promoting young peoples’ literacy skills, education and international activities. Contact.

Yleisradio - Finnish Broadcasting Company
YLE is Finland's national public service broadcasting company. YLE operates four national television channels and six radio channels and services complemented by 25 regional radio programmes. Mediabussi (The Media Bus) is a service run by Yleisradio. The Media Bus, fitted with media equipment and carrying
two instructors, travels all over Finland, visiting schools. Contact (media compass)

Mannerheim League of Child Welfare
The Mannerheim League of Child Welfare promotes the wellbeing of children and of families with children, increases respect for childhood and seeks to make it more visible, and sees that children's views are taken into account in public decision-making. The Mannerheim League is the largest child welfare organization in Finland. MLOCW works with numerous organizations, businesses and networks in Finland and abroad. The Finnish Internet Awareness and Safety project (2008-2010) is a joint action of three individual organizations: Save the Children Finland, The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare (MLL) and the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (Ficora) Contact.

Save the Children Finland
Save the Children Finland is a national organization which fights for children’s rights in order to immediately and permanently improve children’s lives in Finland and all over the world. Save the Children Finland engages in Internet safety work with the objective of improving children's safety and well-being as well as children's rights in the domain of modern information and communications technology. Contact

The Copyright Information and Anti-piracy Centre (CIAPC)
CIAPC was established in 1979 by the right owner groups to fight phonogram piracy. It is a non-profit association, financed by its members and also by the Finnish Ministry of Education. Contact.

Tuotos - collective society for audiovisual producers
Tuotos grants licences for educational purposes to schools and eductional authorities. Licence to show Finnish films at shools and other educational institutes are offered to schools and municipals. Agreement with the ministry of education allows educational copying of tv-programs in educational institutes. Contact.

INSTITUTES AND AUTHORITIES

For several years, the Finnish government has paid attention to media literacy and the question of safe media environment. The various administrative sections of the different ministries promote media education from different points of view, yet supportive of each other. Read more about policies in a brochure Media Education in Finland - Approaches in culture and education.

[Education] [Communication] [Marketing and copyright]

EDUCATION

Ministry of Education
The Ministry of Education is the highest education authority in Finland, supervising publicly subsidised education and training provision, from primary and secondary general education and vocational training to polytechnic, university and adult education. Media education, a safe media environment and media literacy are included in the Ministry's key documents, e.g. the development plan Education and Research 2007-2012 and the Child and Youth Policy Programme 2007-2011, as well as in the Governments Policy Programme for the Well-being of Children, Youth and Families.
Read more
Chidren and media action plan

Opetushallitus - National Board of Education
The Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE) is the national agency subordinate to the Ministry of Education. The FNBE has a wide range of tasks related to the development of education all through pre-primary and basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training, formal adult education and training, liberal adult education (incl. folk high schools, study centres, summer universities) and basic education in the arts. FNBE is responsible for drawing up the national core curricula for basic and general upper secondary education and the framework for vocational qualifications and competence-based qualifications. FNBE produces materials and courses about media education for teachers.

Finnish Boord of Film Classification
The target of the Finnish Board of Film Classification is to safeguard the development of children in an audio-visual programme environment. The inspection of films and other audiovisual programmes shall belong to the Finnish Board of Film Classification, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Education. The duty of the Finnish Board of Film Classification shall be to act as the classification authority referred to in the Act on the Classification of Audiovisual Programmes. Read more

National audiovisual archive

The Finnish Film Foundation
The Finnish Film Foundation´s task is to support and develop Finnish film production, distribution and exhibition. According to the Act, the Ministry of Education and Culture can allocate funds from the State Budget to the Finnish Film Foundation for the production and distribution of films and other audiovisual programmes, and for the promotion of film culture. FFF also promotes film education.

COMMUNICATION

The Ministry of Transport and Communications
The Ministry of Transport and Communications prepares acts, decrees and decisions that are made in Parliament, at Presidential sessions of the Government and in the Government itself. The Ministry also issues ministerial decisions and regulations as well as guidelines and instructions on their implementation. The Ubiquitous Information Society Advisory Board is chaired by Ms Suvi Lindén, Minister of Communications. The Board has around 40 members from the involved Ministries, public administration, NGOs and business life.

Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA)
The core of FICORA´s operations lies in an information-secure society and interference-free communications networks, effectively functioning communications markets and securing the consumer position. FICORA maintains an overview of the functionality of electronic communications networks and information security and reports of eventual information security threats. Also, the objective is to increase the awareness of information security in homes and companies for example by means of arranging the National Safer Internet Day.

Federation of the Finnish Media Industry
Federation of the Finnish Media Industry has made a paper in 2008 in which media education and critical media literacy are in the central position. It is stated in the strategy that media education and critically media literate people are needed in all areas of the society, and especially in Finnish (high quality) teacher education. Furthermore the Federation emphasizes that teacher education has a vital role in developing critical media literacy at schools.

MARKETING AND COPYRIGHT

The Finnish Consumer Agency
The administration of consumer affairs has been entrusted to the Ministry of Employment and the Economy who is in charge of consumer policy. The Finnish Consumer Agency is a govermental agency that has a broad scope of responsibility, including virtually all consumer products (goods and services) and all stages of business activity (manufacturing, importing, marketing, sales, contract terms, maintenance, servicing, compensation for defects, billing, payments, collection, debts, environmental issues). Education and outreach are also tasks assigned to the Consumer Agency by law. The goal is to produce information that makes product choices and daily life as a consumer easier. The Consumer Agency supports consumer education.

The Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Justice maintains and develops the legal order and legal safeguards and oversees the structures of democracy and the fundamental rights of citizens. The Ministry is responsible for the drafting of the most important laws, the functioning of the judicial system and the enforcement of sentences. The Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman is an independent authority operating in connection with the Ministry of Justice.

The Ombudsman for Children
The Ombudsman for Children (Maria Kaisa Aula) promotes the realization of children's rights in Finland. The Ombudsman raises the awareness of decision-makers and influences societal policy by speaking out on behalf of children. She acts as a soundboard for the voice of children and a bridge builder for child policy. The post of Ombudsman for Children is an independent state authority, established by parliamentary legislation. The Ombudsman for Childrenpromotes media literay as a part of childrens rights.