Building digital resilience: Media literacy, democracy and youth voice

Programme overview

The Media Literacy Ambassador Programme is a three-year initiative working with secondary schools in Birmingham. It helps young people understand the digital and media environment and develop the skills and confidence to participate in democracy.

Students explore subjects including misinformation, algorithms, influencers, deepfakes, online misogyny and hate. They learn how to research and check information, question political messages, express their views and create positive content.

The programme aims to help young people move from being passive consumers of online content to critical thinkers and peer leaders who can challenge harm.

How it worked

New groups of students are recruited from six secondary schools each year. Around 3,500 students participated in 2025, followed by a further 3,300 in 2026.

Each year has three main stages:

1. Whole-year assemblies introduce students to media literacy and online risks.
2. Students take part in three weekly 90-minute classroom workshops, developing their research, fact-checking and media-production skills.
3. Selected students visit a film studio, where they apply their learning by producing a video for YouTube.

Selected students then become media literacy champions and take part in filmed debates at Birmingham City University.

The programme develops each year, using lessons from previous groups to improve future delivery.

Impact

Feedback from young participants suggests they became more confident discussing complex and sometimes controversial subjects. These ranged from disinformation, AI and data privacy to the manosphere, misogyny, body image, cyberbullying and digital ID. Some young people also reported rethinking views they had previously accepted, particularly around misogyny and harmful online content.

Feedback also suggested that students increasingly saw themselves as people with something worthwhile to contribute to public debate and democratic life, rather than simply consuming online content. Some shared what they had learned with friends and relatives, while teachers described the programme as motivational.

Evaluation found significant increases in confidence, with the largest increase  in young people’s ability to challenge harmful narratives.

Key strengths

The practical and creative approach gave young people different ways to find and express their voices. Workshops used play and design to test ideas, while video production, peer feedback and debate coaching helped students think critically about what they saw and created.

Film-studio sessions and public debates showed students that their experiences mattered and that adults were willing to listen. At the showcase event, they spoke directly to policymakers, academics and sector leaders.

One Year 10 student explained:
“It wasn’t like a normal lesson, we were actively engaging, like a small community; we could voice our opinions and understand more about the topics.”

Key learning

• Don’t underestimate young people’s ability to discuss difficult issues. Use relevant, engaging activities that build their confidence and start from their experiences.
• Consider the contexts of the young people you’re working with, and where possible adapt the discussions to address their lived experiences.
• Build towards something practical. Giving young people a chance to create, debate or share something can help turn learning into confidence and action.

Further Information

For more information, you can watch the Media Literacy Ambassador Programme official video or read the Summary evaluation report (ConnectFutures/Ofcom, 2025).