Informed Voices
Informed Voices is a national media literacy project delivered by Parent Zone and commissioned by Ofcom. It supports young people to make sense of online information and engage with it confidently.
The long-term project focuses on why media literacy matters for young people’s role in democratic life – and how practical, everyday skills can help them navigate information safely and critically.
Helping young people feel confident in democratic life
Young people are surrounded by information online. It shapes how they understand the world, form opinions and participate in conversations about what’s happening. This is especially critical during elections, when social media and other platforms are full of political content, opinion and influence.
Informed Voices responds to the challenges young people face when trying to make sense of election-related information online. Without the right skills and support, it can be hard to tell what’s reliable, recognise misleading or persuasive content, or feel confident engaging with democratic processes, like voting.
It helps young people: make sense of the information they come across online; understand how influence works; share their views safely; and make informed choices in the digital spaces they already use.
The project is delivered with youth organisations across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including VoiceBox, Scottish Youth Parliament, Young Scot, Promo Cymru and FactCheckNI.
Together, we are working with young people to create content and deliver online campaigns that reflect their experiences and support informed, confident participation in elections and democratic life.
Media literacy skills for everyday life
Parent Zone is one of the UK's leading experts in media literacy education – delivering a range of national programmes for children, young people and adults. Parent Zone CEO Vicki Shotbolt is a trustee of the Media and Information Literacy Alliance (MILA).
Our work is practical and grounded in everyday life, supporting young people, families and professionals to deal with the daily challenges of being online. Informed Voices builds from this media literacy expertise.
Everyday Digital Life Skills
Parent Zone’s flagship media literacy programme – helping families build healthier digital habits.
It helps local authorities, educators and services to deliver high-quality, scalable media literacy learning.
