I’ve just returned from speaking at the G-EPIC Conference in Brussels, which I joined to discuss a critical issue: the persistent gender gap in political confidence and leadership. The EU-backed G-EPIC project has spent three years testing school-based interventions to close this window of inequality. It was an inspiring insight into how powerful, real-world narratives can be used to show students that politics is relevant and responsive. This evidence-based approach confirms one crucial lesson: building confidence and resilience in young people is essential for a thriving democracy.
Returning from Brussels to the news that the Curriculum and Assessment Review has taken on board many of our key recommendations for the strengthening of citizenship and media literacy education has made my year!
But the job is only half done.
A curriculum on paper is only as effective as the teacher who delivers it. Our research has consistently shown that teachers lack the necessary training and capacity in this area. The critical next step for the government is a commitment to ring-fenced, sustainable investment in teacher training and CPD for PML educators across ALL Key Stages.
Projects such as G-EPIC, led in the UK by Professor Bryony Hoskins of Roehampton University provide tangible evidence of how policy can be turned into practice. But we cannot ask teachers to deliver mandatory, high-stakes content without equipping them first.
I’m incredibly proud that the @PMLAPPG will next month be hosting a presentation in parliament of the results of G-EPIC’s UK-based research team from the University of Roehampton. They will be joined by some of the London school girls who benefited from the project and I’m greatly looking forward to hearing how the lessons contributed to their own feelings of political empowerment. ❤️
@Shoutout_UK #PoliticalLiteracy #MediaLiteracy #CitizenshipEducation #TeacherTraining #CPD #CurriculumReview
To mark our partnership with @LDN_gov’s London Voter Registration Week, @MatteoBergamini reflects on its importance. With the govt considering lowering the voting age, it’s crucial to give the next generation the tools to exercise their democratic rights. https://t.co/Yml5x9wxhP
A new piece from @SchoolsWeek looks at how prepared schools are for Votes at 16. It refers to our report The Missing Link with @PMLAPPG authored by @JamesWeinberg1 and quotes our founder @MatteoBergamini on the postcode lottery of political education in schools. #Votesat16
I’m delighted that the ground breaking report resulting from the @LordsCommsCom inquiry on media literacy has taken so many of the recommendations both from @Shoutout_UK's written submission of evidence and from my own oral evidence to the committee earlier this year.
Momentum is clearly growing behind a push for greater media literacy education across society. We must make it a national priority to cultivate a population equipped to critically evaluate information and resist the influence of misinformation and disinformation. Media literacy education should be more than just about safety and protection from harm. It should be about developing critical thinking and promoting civic engagement, with the ultimate goal of empowering individuals to become active and responsible digital citizens.
I fully endorse the key recommendations of this report, which include embedding media literacy education across the national curriculum and providing long-term funding of media literacy initiatives, and urge policy-makers to implement them as a matter of urgency. Thank you to the committee and its chair Baroness Keeley for this vital piece of work and for their valuable efforts to future proof our democracy!
https://t.co/scoJH5JpxQ
#MediaLiteracy @Ofcom #DigitalLiteracy #OnlineSafety @PMLAPPG
Votes at 16: Empowering Youth, But Education is Key. Click to read the joint statement from Shout Out UK and the APPG on Political and Media Literacy https://t.co/fg2K7O9737
Productive meeting of the APPG on Political & Media Literacy at Portcullis House!
🏛️ Key takeaways: Overview of the @iea_education ICCS 2027 study from Jan-Philipp Wagner & vital research on empowering disadvantaged girls in party politics from @BryonyHoskins.
📸 by @Nverolh
This morning we were invited to a parliamentary breakfast hosted by @ElectoralCommUK and @KirstySNP, co-chair of the @PMLAPPG to celebrate #WelcometoYourVoteWeek! 🎉🗳️
Access our mis- and disinformation resources we did for the Electoral Commission here: https://t.co/SdFOKvRG7I
#MediaLiteracy #Misinformation #PoliticalLiteracy @MatteoBergamini
“The objective is for the research evidence from Bournemouth to inform media literacy education for a healthier future.”
Incredible piece highlighting the work of Professor Julian McDougall, who serves on our Academic Advisory Group. #MediaLiteracy#APPG
https://t.co/FPVSsOfHG0
📸 Last Thursday, we hosted the launch of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Political and Media Literacy at the Houses of Parliament.
We look forward to continuing this vital work with parliamentarians, educators, and organisations!
Due to the General Election and dissolution of parliament, the APPG on Political Literacy is now no longer active. An inaugural meeting date will be set once a new parliament is in effect.
We held our Annual General Meeting in Parliament earlier this week and have some big plans for the upcoming year. Stay tuned! ⭐
Massive thank you to all our members and our secretariat @Shoutout_UK !
It was an absolute honour to have been awarded an #MBE by Princess Anne for services to Charity, Social Enterprise and Education.
It has been an incredible 9+ years since I started @Shoutout_UK. We've had some incredible highs and equally powerful lows, but we have kept moving forward.
Never would I have thought that the 'thing' I started in my early 20s would have led me to all corners of the UK pushing the Political Literacy banner, develop our first major international project in West Africa, launch the UK's first cross party APPG on #PoliticalLiteracy, run counter disinformation and media literacy workshops with the UK's largest regulator, and support the Greater London Authority in making London, my home, a beacon of democratic engagement to name a few. I couldn't have done it without having some of the best clients, funders, partners and of course staff in the world!
This achievement is as much yours as it is mine, I thank you. Here's to 2024 and beyond, lets go! 😎🚀
Great to celebrate #PoliticalLiteracyDay by chairing this @PolLitAPPG event this week. Embedding #PoliticalEducation in schools is incredibly important to ensure our young people are well-rounded, active citizens who feel represented. Well done @Shoutout_UK & @savechildrenuk👏🏻
Yesterday we headed to the Houses of Parliament and were joined by ROTA where we discussed the importance of ensuring all voices in the community are heard!
Thank you to @LordBlunkett and @IainMcNicol including everyone from ROTA who joined us at the APPG on Political Literacy!
"As Vice Chair of @PolLitAPPG, I am working with colleagues from across the political spectrum to promote the importance of properly preparing younger people to become informed citizens of our democracy" - @kimleadbeater 👏👏
Are you between 16-19 and interested in #UKPolitics?
Our friends over at @ft4s & @PolStudiesAssoc are running a writing competition w/ @ACitizenshipT and they want to see YOUR entry!
Learn more at 👉https://t.co/nAGjIBZWJW
Entries are open for the @FT4S@PolStudiesAssoc@ACitizenshipT Student politics competition: How to tackle the UK’s challenges? @PolLitAPPG https://t.co/x2XoMjqidD