“Disinformation, Gender, and AI: The Power of Media and Information Literacy” was the title of the final conference for the European projects AlgoWatch and GenderED Coalition, which took place in Paris on 29 September 2025.

Hosted by Sorbonne Nouvelle University, the high-level hybrid event was attended by more than 140 participants, including experts, policymakers, and activists from across Europe. A key session, “Algowatch as a new perspective on MIL and AI literacy,” was moderated by Zach Bastick.

The panel featured project experts who shared their insights: Divina Frau-Meigs discussed the effectiveness of AI literacy within a media and information literacy (MIL) framework; Aphra Kerr presented on gamified strategies for MIL; Tamara Kvas shared lessons learned from capacity-building through training; and Vitor Tomé spoke about networking and dissemination to reach larger communities.

The conference served as a launchpad for future action to counter disinformation powered by AI. The results and findings will be transferred to EDMO and other European disinformation hubs, including DE FACTO, IBERIFIER, and IDMO, to benefit other EU countries.

Students from the 11th grade at Lagoa Secondary School in the Azores, Portugal, organised an AlgoWatch exhibition on 30 September, marking the final day of the project. The initiative, held in the school’s atrium, was open to the entire school community but was specifically aimed at students in the 9th and 10th grades.

During the event, students had the opportunity to take quizzes, play the Eunopia video game, and explore other resources from the project. The exhibition was organised with the support of teachers and other members of the school community, including Chemistry and Physics teacher Paula Silva and school director Alexandre Oliveira, both of whom had previously been involved in validating the project’s resources.

Photos and a video from the event are available to view on the project’s Instagram page.

The exhibition, set up in the library’s foyer and community room, showcased AlgoWatch resources on posters, iPads, and laptops. Over two days, the team engaged 105 students and their teachers in interactive workshops. On 23 September, two classes of 14-15-year-old girls participated, a group that included Erasmus students from Spain. On 24 September, two classes of 14-year-old boys attended.

During the hour-and-15-minute workshops, students used resources like “eye-openers,” a quiz, and a mini-game. Many students chose the “online relationships” quiz. The team also used Google Gemini to demonstrate image generation, asking students to help refine the prompts. All students completed feedback sheets, and one teacher recorded a video testimonial at the end of their session.

In addition to the students, at least 25 members of the public visited the exhibition. There was high demand for more sessions, but the team was unable to accommodate due to staffing and resource limitations.

Media literacy in community projects against disinformation was the title of a presentation delivered by Vitor Tomé at the 22nd BAD Regional Meeting in the Azores, held at the Atlântida Cine Centro de Cultura, Museu de Santa Maria, on 25 and 26 September. The event’s theme was “Challenges and innovations: information professionals in the current context.”

The presentation, which took place on 25 September, highlighted the AlgoWatch toolkit and other project resources. It also served to present preliminary results from the ‘Media and Information Literacy – Community Connections’ project, which focuses on training information professionals in MIL, recognising the crucial and trusted role of libraries in communities.

Three specific project outcomes were detailed: a course for information professionals (available in Portuguese, Spanish, and English); a strategy for creating and monitoring community MIL projects from within libraries (currently being validated in Portugal, Spain, and Ireland); and a European network of libraries focused on combating disinformation through media literacy.

From 4 PM to 8 PM, the team presented its resources, drawing a crowd to its corner of the exhibition hall. The stand featured a pull-up banner, six posters, three iPads, and a television screen and laptop. Learning from previous events, the team also provided two chairs for visitors to sit while engaging with the resources, such as the game and quizzes.

The exhibit was a success, with up to 80 visitors directly engaging with the resources. The event as a whole welcomed 1,000 visitors, giving the project significant visibility. The team used balloons left over from a previous event, which helped make their stand easy to spot.

Algowatch researchers Carlos Pinheiro and Vitor Tomé travelled to Bragança, Portugal, on 12 and 13 September to present the project’s toolkit and other resources to the Portuguese Public Libraries Network. Their visit for the First Meeting of the Intermunicipal Network of Libraries of Terras de Trás-os-Montes, held at the Paulo Quintela Auditorium, provided a platform to connect with professionals from across the country.

The event was an opportunity to engage with professionals from the eight municipal libraries that form the network, along with representatives from other libraries, including those from Santa Maria da Feira and Fundão.

The meeting’s programme included several discussion panels with renowned speakers and presentations of projects recognised for their good practices. The event aimed to be a key moment for professional training and development, fostering inter-municipal cooperation and networking.

Frau-Meigs shared the AlgoWatch toolkit with an audience of over 100 people. She also released preliminary results on the effectiveness of the project’s interactive approach in empowering both teachers and young people. The presentation focused on co-creation and reflective practice and the potential for embedding AI and media literacy in educational environments across the European Union.

The AlgoWatch stand saw approximately 350 visitors of all ages stop by to play the game and ask questions about the mechanics of algorithms. The team on the day included Aphra Kerr (UCD), Yuening Li (UCD), Faebitha Rahiman (UCD), and Cliona Sheridan (DCU).

The project is the Irish research team’s contribution to AlgoWatch, a Creative Europe initiative led by Savoir Devenir in Paris with partners in Portugal and Croatia. Part of the Research Ireland ADAPT Centre, the project focuses on educating the public and key intermediaries, including teachers, librarians, and media professionals, to take control of algorithms and Artificial Intelligence and to be aware of misinformation and disinformation.

The Irish research team, consisting of Jean Finley (developer), Faebitha Rahiman (writer), Yekta Kalanta Harmozi (graphics), and Aphra Kerr (PI), developed and produced the game, which is now available to play for free in four languages on the AlgoWatch website.

“Artificial intelligence, communication in the public space and disruption,” was the title of a presentation delivered by Vitor Tomé at the 5th Education Meeting in Cantanhede on 15 July 2025. The event, which was organised by the school libraries network, was held at Biocant Park in Cantanhede, Portugal.

Tomé’s presentation highlighted the necessity of multi-level community intervention programmes in the field of media literacy. He focused particularly on the literacies of algorithms, artificial intelligence, and prompts for large language models. He proposed strategies for the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of these programmes, which can be initiated by schools or other educational entities, such as public libraries or digital media observatories.

The presentation also explored the AlgoWatch toolkit and other open-access digital resources co-created with teachers, librarians, journalists, and other members of the educational community.

These materials form the Algowatch Toolkit, which you can download as a PDF. The toolkit offers guidance on how schools, libraries, and other organisations can use these resources to enhance various subjects or to create their own exhibitions. The resources are available in English, French, and Portuguese, with a Croatian version to be released soon.

The project extends its gratitude to the teachers, students, parents, librarians, and journalists from both mainland Portugal and the Azores who contributed. Appreciation also goes to the IPDJ, the CIES team, and the families who provided support throughout the project. A special mention must be made to the teachers and students from AE Ferreira de Castro, who showed dedication by being present on the opening day.