Join the Conference: Ageing in the Digital Era: MediaLiteracy, Participation and Critical Engagement

The Ageing in the Digital Era: Media Literacy, Participation and Critical Engagement conference will take place on 6 February 2026 at the CCCB (Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona). Organised within the framework of the MELISE project, the conference aims to foster dialogue between academia, civil society, and public and private institutions around the challenges and opportunities of media literacy in later life.

The event will explore key topics such as critical media literacy for older adults, digital participation, ethics and epistemic justice, intergenerational news literacy, and media education for seniors. Through keynote lectures, panels and a final roundtable, the conference will share research, methodologies and best practices that contribute to social inclusion, empowerment and active citizenship in the digital era.

The full programme has now been published, featuring speakers from universities, research centres, media organisations and civil society initiatives across Europe, and combining both in-person and online sessions.

Programme

09:30 – 10:00

Registration

10:00 – 10:20
Welcome and presentation of the MELISE project
Paula Estalayo (Ediciones Octaedro) – Critical Media Literacy and Social Inclusion in Later Life: The MELISE Approach

10:20 – 10:30
Welcome remarks
Montserrat Amorós Coderch (IAUTA, International Association of Universities of the Third Age)

10:30 – 11:00
Keynote 1 (Online)
Ilaria Gaudiello (Biblioteche Senza Frontiere, Italy) – Meet Nino, the simple and secure guide to the digital world

Chair: Matteo Scannavini (Dataninja)

11:00 – 11:30
Coffee break

11:30 – 12:15
Panel 1 (In person) – Ethics, Epistemic Justice and Intergenerational News Literacy

Chair: Isabel García (Cosicosa)

• Anna G. Orfanidou (University of York, Europe Campus) – Analog Anchors and Digital Floaters: Intergenerational Perspectives on Media Literacy and Critical News Consumption
• Pedro García Guirao (University of Malaga) – Bioethics Through the Screen: Audiovisual Media Literacy and the Challenge of Epistemic Injustice in Older Adults

12:15 – 12:30
Break

12:30 – 13:00
Keynote 2 (In person)
Silvia de Riba (University of Girona) – Rethinking Literacy from the ‘Posts’: Intra-actions and Affects in Situated Media Encounters

Chair: Paula Estalayo (Ediciones Octaedro)

13:00 – 14:30
Lunch break

14:30 – 15:00
Panel 2 (Online) – Teaching Media Literacy to Seniors: From Lifelong Media Education to Functional Skills

Chair: Cristina Valero (Cosicosa)

• Margarida Maneta (Lusófona University, CICANT) – Media education? For older people too
• Katerina Chryssanthopoulou (Ionian University, Greece) – Media literacy for seniors as a set of functional skills: the example of BUBI EU project

15:00 – 16:30
Roundtable – Ageing in the Digital Era: Media Literacy, Participation and Critical Engagement

Chair: Apostolos Koutropoulos (AUTH)

• Lorenzo Marini (Verificat)
• Cristina Fernández (UVIC)
• Anna Blazquez Abella (Fundació Pere Tarrés)
• George Rambotas (AUTH)

16:30 – 17:00
Closing remarks

Isabel Nery (Associação Literacia para os Media e Jornalismo)

Attendance is free but registration is required for all participants. Register now: https://forms.gle/Bpd3vmoVSrhr2wHv8 

Venue (in-person): Room 1 CCCB (Centro de Cultura Contemporánea de Barcelona): Montalegre Street, 5, Ciutat Vella, 08001 Barcelona (Map)

Online participation: Livestream (recordings available later) – [Link]

Registration: Required (both in-person and online) – [Link]

Time zone: CET (Barcelona time)

Language: English