The Universitat Jaume I and Periódico Mediterráneo, in collaboration with the RTVE-Jaume I Chair, the Chair of Audiovisual Analysis and Prospective, the Audiovisual Council of the Valencian Community, the State Research Agency, the Association for the Development of Communication and the Spanish Association for Communication Research, are organising the 17th International Congress “ComLoc” 2024 on media and information literacy.
The event, which will take place from 2 to 4 October 2024 at the Universitat Jaume I in Castellón de la Plana, will feature presentations by several leading figures in the fields of education, journalism and communication, who will explore the latest trends and strategies in the field of media literacy.
In this way, the event will be a forum for ideas and debates, with the participation, among other experts, of Manuel Pinto, Luciano di Mele, Félix Ortega, Carmen Marta, Agustín García Matilla, Ignacio Aguaded and José Manuel Pérez Tornero (professor of journalism at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and coordinator of the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue Programme).
The conference will seek to deepen the understanding of how media literacy can empower citizens in an increasingly digitised society and will address issues such as the role of media education in fostering critical and participatory citizenship or the impact of emerging technologies on the practice and teaching of media literacy, as well as presenting examples of innovative experiences and case studies in the implementation of media literacy programmes.
Projects or initiatives such as CrAL, Omedialiteracy or IVERES, which have been promoted by the Gabinete de Comunicación y Educación of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) with the aim of empowering the journalistic community and the local population in the use of tools for the development of a critical spirit and the fight against disinformation.
The Gabinete de Comunicación y de Educación is a consolidated group specialised in scientific research and dissemination, which belongs to the Department of Journalism and Communication Sciences of the UAB. Recognised by AGAUR (Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca) of the Generalitat de Catalunya as a Consolidated Research Group on the basis of its trajectory, projection and development, it develops projects and research in the field of convergence between communication and education. Since its creation, it has developed initiatives aimed at integrating, with awareness and freedom, communication technologies in the so-called global or knowledge society. Under the direction of Santiago Tejedor, the Gabinete organises different Master’s Degrees, such as the Master’s Degree in Travel Journalism (on-site and online), the Master’s Degree in Communication and Education, the Master’s Degree in Environmental Communication and the Master’s Degree in Political and Electoral Communication Management. The group has a wide and varied collection of publications, in the form of scientific articles, books and book chapters, and other works, which is constantly being renewed. It also has a laboratory for teaching innovation projects, transfer and new formats that are conceived and developed from a perspective based on creativity and multidisciplinary work. Every year, the Gabinete organises an academic expedition that travels around the world with students from different universities and degrees. This is the Tahina-Can Expedition, which has been awarded as the best educational project in Spain. It also has the portal Tu Aventura, the educational platform InfoEDU and the newsgames and science project Reporter@s de la Ciencia.