Youth organizations’ capacity building on youth media literacy: A comparative study of youth NGOs in Finland, Norway and Romania

This study investigates the intersection of media literacy and civic engagement within the context of youth organizations across three countries: Finland, Norway and Romania. Employing a comparative cross-national research design, and drawing on interviews with youth organizations, we explore how NGOs understand and conceptualize media literacy and civic engagement. Subsequently, we identify national NGOs' capacity building strategies for working with media literacy in ways that encourage youth civic engagement. Our findings reveal nuanced differences in the operationalization of media literacy and civic engagement concepts across the three countries, shaped by local political, economic, and cultural contexts. We found that whereas the term “media literacy” is understood similarly in all three countries, the position and role of the youth organizations themselves seems to be quite different depending on country context. By highlighting the distinct strategies employed by NGOs in Finland, Norway, and Romania, this study underscores the critical role of tailored capacity-building initiatives in addressing national disparities. The findings offer actionable insights for policymakers, educators, and NGOs, emphasizing the need for cross-sectoral collaborations and international knowledge exchange to enhance youth empowerment. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding contextual factors in shaping organizational approaches to media literacy and civic engagement and contributes to the discourse on youth empowerment and civic participation in the digital age.