About / À propos

Around the world, citizens are struggling to bring about an internet that is open, free and safe – that is, to abolish surveillance, control, censorship, disinformation, hate speech and threats. In some instances, politicians and civil society organizations are calling for government measures to help them achieve these goals. In other countries authoritarian regimes use internet and social media to justify repression, including measures to limit freedom of expression.

Something that has become particularly visible during the covid-19 pandemic is that freedom of expression and independent media as a public sphere is a cornerstone of democracy, especially with ‘Big Tech’ and AI in mind.  Such a context is crucial to the UNESCO Chair at the University of Gothenburg.

A priority is to strengthen the efforts to contribute to a more holistic perspective regarding vital issues on freedom of expression and media in the digital age, and to strengthen the collaboration between the research society and UNESCO as well as between research and practice.

The activities of the Chair are carried out both within academia, and in politics/policy as member of expert committees/commissions national and worldwide.

Activities during 2022 include: publication of results based on the study Media and Information Literacy (MIL): Knowledge, Concepts and History; the organization of a national MIL conference during the UNESCO Global MIL Week in October 2022 – the theme is Theory, Policy, Practice. A Bottom up Perspective – a collaboration between many different stakeholders: and the establishment of a MIL platform at the University of Gothenburg.

(Ver. 01-2022)