On 29 January 2025, the Academy of Ukrainian Press, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, organised an interregional forum «Development of Media Education in Ukraine: Regional Dimension» for educators from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Kharkiv regions.
850 participants joined the event: educators, teachers, lecturers, representatives of postgraduate education institutions, librarians, and educational managers who implement and develop media literacy in their communities.
In the context of information wars and digital reality, media literacy is not just a skill, but a tool for critical thinking, information analysis and protection against manipulation.
Opening the forum, Valeriy Ivanov, President of the AUP, Doctor of Philology, Professor, said: "Ukraine is a leader in implementing media literacy in the post-Soviet space. We have been building this system for years, and today its importance is greater than ever. Teachers play a key role in shaping students' critical thinking, and our common goal is to give them all the tools they need to do so".
A sociological study by AUP and Socioinform confirmed this:
Media literacy is being implemented more actively in cities than in rural communities.
Most often, media literacy is integrated into the teaching of grades 8-9, but it requires cross-cutting education from preschool to adult education.
Educators note a lack of time and resources for systematic implementation of media education, but are interested in learning.
Trends in the development of media literacy in 2025-2026 were presented by Tetiana Ivanova, media expert at the Academy of Ukrainian Press, Doctor of Pedagogy, Professor, Head of the Department of Social Communications at Mariupol State University. She stressed that modern media education should adapt to changes:
✅ The use of artificial intelligence in education.
✅ Building information resilience and countering manipulation.
✅ Development of critical thinking as a competence of the 21st century.
Halyna Degtyareva, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Head of the Department of Methods of Teaching Languages and Literature at the Kharkiv Academy of Continuing Education, spoke about the implementation of media education in the Kharkiv region.
She emphasised that the Kharkiv region has a model of integrated media literacy teaching that allows for the development of critical thinking without overloading the curriculum. She also spoke about the successful experience of cooperation between Kharkiv educators and the AUP, the creation of textbooks and the introduction of innovative methods in the educational process.
Who to trust during an information war?
Andriy Yurychko, PhD in Philology, journalist, lecturer at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, spoke about fact-checking algorithms and the importance of information hygiene.
"Today, Ukrainians receive news mainly from Telegram, other messengers and social media, which makes us vulnerable to disinformation. It is important to teach ourselves and our children to question sources and analyse content".
Resources for educators
Maksym Zaporozhchenko, AUP Media Education Programs Manager, Head of the Centre for Digital Education and Media Culture at the Mykolaiv Regional Institute of Postgraduate Education, presented AUP methodological developments and training materials to help teachers integrate media literacy into school disciplines. All materials are available online and free of charge on the AUP Media Education and Media Literacy Portal.
"Reading is not only about knowledge, it is about the ability to see deeper, analyse and ask questions", said Liudmyla Tabolina, a philologist, teacher of Ukrainian language and literature at the Kyiv Lyceum “Educator”, teacher-methodologist, semi-finalist of the Global Teacher Prize 2023, finalist of the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine 2019. She presented practical tools for developing students' critical thinking, interactive exercises and creative tasks that motivate children to analyse information.
We thank all participants for their active participation, questions and discussions!
The AUP continues to work on expanding educational opportunities and invites educators to cooperate.
