Media Aware empowers people of all ages to navigate today’s complex media landscape with confidence. The educational activities help participants develop skills to question and analyse the messages they encounter daily — from news to social media. But media literacy goes beyond critique: it also involves ethical and creative media production. Through practical activities, participants learn to express themselves effectively, ethically and with awareness of their audience. By combining critical thinking and creativity, people become not only conscious consumers, but also responsible citizens within public dialogue and democratic life.
Teachers are vital in equipping students to think critically and act responsibly in today’s media-saturated world. Media Aware supports educators through training and resources grounded in critical pedagogy. This approach encourages going beyond passive transmission, fostering dialogue, questioning power structures and engaging students as co-creators of knowledge. Programmes offer practical strategies for critical literacy (read, reflect, respond) and for responsible media production. By strengthening educators, the programmes help cultivate classrooms where media literacy becomes a transformative and democratic practice.
Dr Ricardo Castellini da Silva is a Media Literacy Educator and Consultant. He holds a PhD in Media Literacy from Dublin City University and a MA in Media, Culture and Education from the Institute of Education, University College London.
Ricardo has extensive experience designing and delivering media literacy learning experiences for all age groups, covering topics such as digital media ecosystems, disinformation, online safety and social media practices.
Ricardo has participated in numerous European projects in the field of Media and Information Literacy, such as EDMO (European Digital Media Observatory), where he coordinated media literacy activities for the Irish hub; TeaMLit, a consortium that investigated challenges and opportunities in initial and continuing teacher education in media literacy in Europe; and MICOOL, a consortium that analysed implications of digital media use in the classroom. In 2022, as a member of the Anti-Bullying Centre, he took part in international research on young people’s online experiences of harassment and gender-based sexual violence. He was also co-author of the Council of Europe study Digital Media Literacy Basics: Information Disorder and Disinformation, which formed the basis for informational and educational content that expanded understanding of key digital literacy themes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In 2024, Ricardo received a Special Recognition Award at the Media Literacy Ireland Awards for his contribution to media literacy in Ireland.
Together with three other media literacy experts, Ricardo contributed to the relaunch of the UNESCO MIL Alliance during Global Media and Information Literacy Week in October 2025. The project included assessing the network’s current status, an analytical report, an action plan to restructure the Alliance, and organizing a one-day event with key stakeholders.
A five-day lab in Brussels combining lectures, practical exercises and meetings with professionals (EU policymakers, NGOs, etc.). Ricardo developed the content and delivered all learning sessions, collaborated on the final agenda and assessed candidates’ proposals.
Goal: raise media literacy skills and confidence among radio professionals in Ireland, who will act as ambassadors or informal trainers in the sector. Ricardo created the content and delivered six modules (five online and one in person) and supported the selection of guest speakers.
In partnership with Media Literacy Ireland, Ricardo developed a ‘workshop in a box’ providing teachers, librarians, community leaders and facilitators with ready-to-use resources for teaching media literacy. The material explores good practices in digital content use, raises awareness of disinformation and its social impacts, and uses a train-the-trainer approach. More than 130 people were trained in Ireland in two months.