“We Can Do Anything” — Gender-Empowering Media Literacy through Cross-Institutional Partnerships

Abstract

Public libraries are powerful partners for smaller NGOs and educational professionals. But what makes a good match?

This poster explores the opportunities and challenges for strategic partnerships across libraries and NGOs, highlighting how collaborations move libraries beyond their traditional role as providers of collections or venues to become active partners in innovative projects and advocates for digital agency for all. The best-practice projects presented here, demonstrate how media eduaction organizations, tech hubs and youth centers become active long-term partners in cross-institutional media education initiatives.

The poster also examines interventions reducing the digital gender divide by emphasizing the importance of recognizing gender-related inequalities and biases in digital technologies, educational practices and participation opportunities. As society becomes increasingly digital, the need for non-commercial, low-threshold, community-rooted, trustworthy, creative space that lowers participation barriers for girls, rises. Democratic educational institutions like public libraries have the responsibility to address limited access to the digital world, structural barriers to STEM and digital participation for women and girls and publicly promote educational interventions regarding digital agency Let's explore what girls and young women need to confidently participate in projects, where coding, media production and technical competence are taught.