Conference: “Media Education 4.0: Competences – Agency – Risks – Institutions”

7 December 2025

Media Education 4.0: Competences – Agency – Risks – Institutions
18-19. November 2026
Online conference organized by the Methodological Forum of Young Media Researchers, Media Research Center, UKEN, Kraków. Participation in the conference is free of charge.

Main topics:

Media and Digital Competences in Practice
Digital Agency and Participation
Risks: Addictions, Manipulation, Colonization
AI and Technologies in Media Education 4.0
Institutions, Methodology, and Strategies

1. Media and Digital Competences in Practice

Introduction:
Contemporary media, functioning as the primary communication infrastructure of late modern societies, require a redefinition of media competence. From a cultural studies perspective, such competence should be understood as a form of symbolic competence that enables individuals to navigate media environments autonomously and to deconstruct media messages. From sociological and political science perspectives, media competence is an instrument of empowerment and a prerequisite for participation in public life. In media studies, it is a set of skills that allows for analyzing the intentionality of media messages, identifying mechanisms of influence, and engaging in conscious content production.

Related topics:

Critical thinking toward media messages: deconstruction, exposure, “decolonization”
Information verification and fact-checking: towards active reception practices and a “suspicious” reading
From audience to creator: shifting from consumption to creativity and conceptualization of media experiences
Analysis of image, sound, narrative, and media contexts: methods of studying media messages and narratives
Ethics in communication and media: theoretical aspects and actual media practices
Cybersecurity and privacy protection: analysis of educational practices
Digital competences of students, teachers, and parents: systems thinking and lifelong learning
Digital inclusion and reducing media exclusion: projects and implementations

2. Digital Agency and Participation

Introduction:
Digital agency should be understood as a form of mediated emancipation, where individuals possess both the technological and cultural capacity to generate meaning and initiate social action. Sociologically, it manifests as performative subjectivity; in cultural studies, as a form of transmedia practice positioning individuals as prosumers (Toffler), co-creators of discourse, and initiators of narratives. From a media studies perspective, this phenomenon signals the erosion of the traditional sender–receiver dichotomy and the consolidation of the user’s status as a social actor and media content producer. Digital participation—understood as engagement in social processes through media—constitutes a key element for developing quality-oriented, civic, and creative education.

Related topics:

Media agency across generational cohorts: empowerment, autonomy, emancipation
From audience to prosumer: creativity and online civic engagement
Digital participation: engaging students and communities in social action through media
Social campaigns and media initiatives as tools for social, political, and cultural change
Gamification, storytelling, and project-based education
Media labs, educational hackathons, student-led projects

3. Risks: Addictions, Manipulation, Colonization

Introduction:
This module focuses on analyzing systemic mechanisms that generate risk in media ecosystems. Digital addiction, communication-related violence, disinformation, and algorithmic profiling are not merely individual phenomena but are embedded within the structural logic of the attention economy. Sociologically, such risks may be interpreted as forms of symbolic violence (Bourdieu); from a cultural studies perspective, as the colonization of imagination and communication practices by dominant technological platforms. In media education, a key challenge is fostering epistemic resilience, enabling individuals to consciously resist algorithmic hegemony while maintaining cognitive and decision-making autonomy. The analysis of media risks should address both the individual level (behavioral mechanisms) and the structural level (regulatory aspects of platform functioning).

Related topics:

Media addictions (scrolling, binge-watching, doomscrolling) and media affordances: towards interactive and interaction-based research methods
Risky online behaviors (hate speech, cyberbullying, trolling) in the context of network ethnography and cybercultural studies
Disinformation, digital propaganda, fake news: research methods and prevention of online threats
Digital colonization: platform hegemony and technological dependency—quantitative and qualitative research perspectives
Data extraction and the algorithmic economy
Epistemic resistance: how education can support independent knowledge and thinking
Algorithmic manipulation and power asymmetries in media

4. AI and Technologies in Media Education 4.0

Introduction:
The integration of artificial intelligence into the production, distribution, and reception of media content transforms the ontology of media. AI functions as a non-normative agent capable of generating meaning and constructing representations of reality, which necessitates expanding media competence to include reflexivity toward tools that automate interpretation. Sociologically, AI reshapes traditional human–technology relations; in cultural studies, it becomes a form of hybrid technological creativity; in media studies, it shifts boundaries between constructing and reproducing messages.

Related topics:

Artificial intelligence and media production/reception (deepfakes, generative media)
Use of AI in teaching—opportunities and challenges
Algorithmic justice and anti-discrimination education
Decoloniality in AI design (decolonial AI)
Cybersecurity in the context of AI tools

5. Institutions, Methodology, and Strategies

Introduction:
This module focuses on the systemic dimension of media education as both a cultural and political-educational project. Institutions—schools, universities, NGOs, research centers—serve as mediators between individuals and media environments. Sociologically, they constitute infrastructures for distributing social competences; in cultural studies, they are spaces for negotiating communication norms and values. From a media studies perspective, the need for methodological pluralism is evident—incorporating both qualitative approaches and digital data analysis. A key challenge lies in translating academic reflection into actionable policy and educational initiatives that support media competence development, certification, and partnerships among academia, education, and media sectors.

Related topics:

The role of schools, universities, NGOs, and media in Media Education 4.0
Partnership models across educational, social, and media sectors
Strategies for implementing media education (education policies, programs)
Funding for media projects and educational innovation
Methodological pluralism in media research
Research ethics and data protection compliance
Methods of disseminating research findings and scholarly communication
Monitoring, evaluation, and certification of media competences

We invite you to submit paper proposals and abstracts via the submission form
Deadline: 30 October 2026. Participation in the conference is free of charge.