"• A holistic approach is needed. Media literacy goes far beyond media, education and culture. It should become an essential part of everyday life, taking appropriate forms to attract, to connect and to activate responsible decision making. The recent trending issues are digitalisation (before 2013), focus on disinformation (and mixing it up with “fake news”) after 2016, as well as (dis)trust due to the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic after 2020. Today the focus is on how the issues related to data transparency, new gadgets and wearable technology, are changing the media landscape and media consumption.
• Developing internal and external factors, related to media literacy, shows that some changes are here to stay. Adaptability to new agendas, tools, techniques is a must for the area. The challenges and known and emerging threats connected to media literacy emphasise the necessity for a holistic approach within a society.
• Strategic strengthening of collaboration should be considered by the stakeholders. There is discord regarding who should do what, as functions in legislation and other regulating documents are very general. Clearly defined responsibilities for formal networking with clear timelines, as well as ad-hoc informal networking should be considered.
• Financial sustainability and media literacy focused institutions. The media literacy initiatives are un26
derfunded by the state. It is mainly international donors who are setting the agenda. For instance, newly identified needs such as projects for marginalised parts of society or those tired from the news do not get the appropriate response from the community of media literacy actors. Those actors, who occasionally deliver projects on media literacy, are mostly busy with other projects.
• Future-oriented media literacy. Behaviour prediction and redirection of the audience, connected to data collection and events, are topical issues for political and business purposes. The issue is connected to the emerging military technologies of influence (Kania, 2020; Tullis, 2019), means that activities related to increasing resilience and adaptability should continue. There is a need on a national level to encourage capacity building and informing media literacy stakeholders on prospective topics to be included.
• While mentioning the external factors, some experts said media education should be considered essential without the need to connect to external actors, and to be part of any informed decision making centric and human centric process, taking it out of the political scope.
• Solutions cannot be just Top-Down or Bottom-Up, as the skills and knowledge needed should be interconnected with issues relevant for the society. Motivation and engagement of the fragmented audiences, by promoting media literacy and quality journalism is essential for making a strong, responsible and sustainable country. There will be a growing need for very precise and different types of media literacy initiatives (in scope, format, and nature) in society.
• Evidence based media literacy should be appropriately funded. The networking needed for increasing research should be considered a priority for cross-sectoral cooperation." (Concluding remarks, pages 25-26)