The APPG on Political and Media Literacy Briefing Series
The Shout Out UK/APPG Digital Briefing Series is a series of video briefing sessions delivered by members of the Academic Advisory Group to the APPG on Political and Media Literacy, chaired by James Weinberg PhD. This series provides focused briefings on urgent and emerging challenges across both political and media literacy including curriculum reforms to citizenship education, Votes at 16 and the need for critical AI literacy.
Introduction by Dr James Weinberg
Dr James Weinberg, Chair of the Academic Advisory Group to the APPG on Political and Media literacy has curated a Digital Briefing Series, hosted by Shout Out UK, to bring leading academic research relevant to the group directly into Parliament.
The series provides a platform for researchers to present insights on key issues shaping political and media literacy today. Each session is designed as a concise, accessible briefing for MPs, Peers, policymakers and stakeholders, and will be recorded as part of an ongoing public resource. Dr Weinberg introduces the series here.
Political Literacy
Addressing Inequality: Strategies for the Curriculum Review to tackle the ‘civic gap’ in citizenship provision
This session examines inequalities in citizenship education and proposes evidence-based strategies to reduce the civic gap and improve outcomes for young people.
Presented by Professor Lee Jerome & Faiza Hyder (Middlesex University)
Beyond Voting: Redefining citizenship as a mandatory, examined subject covering civic, legal, and financial skills
This briefing argues for a broader, integrated model of citizenship education, focusing on the skills and knowledge required for meaningful civic participation across life.
Presented by Professor Helen Haste (University of Bath)
Co-developing an island-wide toolkit to strengthen democratic engagement in the context of Jersey
This session explores youth democratic engagement, barriers to participation, and the development of a practical toolkit to strengthen long-term civic participation in Jersey.
Presented by Dr Christopher Pich (University of Nottingham)
Implementing Votes at 16: Challenges and Opportunities
This session explores evidence around lowering the voting age and the implications for democratic engagement, policy design, and youth participation.
Presented by Dr Tom Loughran (Lancaster University)
Media Literacy
AI & Digital Abuse: Examining technology-facilitated gender violence and deepfakes within media education
This session explores the rise of AI-generated abuse and deepfakes, and how media literacy education can better address consent, ethics, and digital safety.
Presented by Professor Tanya Horeck and Dr Steve Connolly (Anglia Ruskin University)
Embedding news literacy and civic engagement in primary education: Evidence from an effective school-based intervention.
This session draws on recent research to explore how news and media literacy can be effectively embedded in primary education to support early civic engagement.
Presented by Dr Gianfranco Polizzi (University of Birmingham)
Influencer Stories of Mental Health and Young People (2024–26
This session examines how young people engage with mental health content online and how media literacy can help counter misinformation and improve content verification.
Presented by Professor Ruth Page and Dr Alex Christiansen (University of Birmingham)
CAR Integration: Positioning media literacy within Citizenship and merging it with AI literacy
This briefing explores how media literacy can be embedded in citizenship education and integrated with emerging AI literacy frameworks.
Presented by Professor Julian McDougall (Bournemouth University)
