Media Education as Public Policy: Social Participation and Democratic Reconstruction in Brazil

Abstract

The article discusses the formulation of the Brazilian Media Education Strategy (EBEM) as a public policy built through a participatory and cross-sectoral process involving government, civil society, and the academic community. Based on the experience of the public consultation, the mapping of initiatives, and the editions of the Brazilian Media Education Week, we highlight the centrality of social listening as a democratic foundation of Brazil's media education policy. Drawing on authors such as Bordenave, Martín-Barbero, Soares, Buckingham, among others, the text presents media education as a strategic axis for promoting critical citizenship in a context marked by disinformation and informational inequalities, affirming its dialogical nature and reflecting on the possibilities and challenges in the implementation of such a policy.