About

Media Aware is an educational consultancy service conceived by Dr Ricardo Castellini da Silva to promote media literacy through classes, workshops, programmes and other educational activities.

The consultancy has 2 main goals:

Education of the Public

Media Aware empowers people of all ages to navigate today’s complex media landscape with confidence. The educational activities help participants develop the skills to question and analyse messages they encounter daily, from news to social media. But media literacy goes beyond critique – it also involves the creative and responsible production of media. Through hands-on activities, participants learn how to express themselves effectively, ethically, and with awareness of their audience. By combining critical thinking with creativity, individuals not only become discerning consumers of media but also active, responsible contributors to public dialogue and democratic life.

Education of Educators

Teachers are vital in equipping students to think critically and act responsibly in today’s media-saturated world. Media Aware supports educators through training and resources grounded in the principles of critical pedagogy. This approach encourages teachers to move beyond passive transmission of information, fostering dialogue, questioning power structures, and engaging students as co-creators of knowledge. Our programmes provide practical strategies for teaching critical reading, reflection, and response, while also guiding students in the creative and responsible production of media. By empowering educators with these tools, we help cultivate classrooms where media literacy becomes a transformative and democratic practice.

Bio

Dr Ricardo Castellini da Silva is a Media Literacy Educator and Consultant. He holds a PhD in Media Literacy from Dublin City University and a MA in Media, Culture and Education from the Institute of Education, University College London.

Ricardo has extensive experience designing and delivering media literacy learning experiences for all age groups, covering topics such as digital media ecosystems, disinformation, online safety and social media practices. He has partnered with government organizations, NGO’s, schools and libraries to promote media literacy. Since 2015, he has been teaching classes on digital media in the Professional Master of Education programme at Trinity College Dublin.

Ricardo has participated in numerous European projects in the field of Media and Information Literacy, such as EDMO (European Digital Media Observatory), where he coordinated the media literacy activities in the Irish hub; TeaMLit, a consortium formed to investigate the challenges and opportunities in initial and in-service teacher training in MIL across Europe; and MICOOL, a consortium that investigated the implications of digital media use in the classroom. As a member of the Anti-Bullying Centre in 2022, Ricardo participated in an international research project on young people’s online experiences of sexual and gender-based harassment and abuse. He was also the co-author of a Council of Europe study, Digital Media Literacy Basics: Information Disorder and Disinformation, which served as the foundation for developing informative and educational content designed to enhance the understanding of key digital media literacy issues among citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 2024, Ricardo received a Special Recognition Award at the Media Literacy Ireland Awards for his contribution to media literacy in Ireland.

Recent Projects

UNESCO - Relaunch of the MIL Alliance Network

Alongside 3 other experts in Media Literacy, Ricardo worked on the relaunch of the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Alliance during the UNESCO MIL week in October 2025. The project involves an evaluation of the current status of the network, the development of a comprehensive analysis report, the production of a detailed action plan to restructure the Alliance, and the organisation of a full-day event with key stakeholders during the UNESCO MIL week.

Learning Waves - Media Literacy Train the Trainer Programme

The primary goal of this training program was to enhance the media literacy skills and confidence of a select group of media professionals in the independent radio sector. These professionals will, in turn, serve as media literacy ambassadors or informal trainers within their sector and potentially extend their impact beyond it. Ricardo’s role in the project was to create the content for and deliver 6 learning modules (5 online and 1 in-person), and assist with the selection of guest speakers.

Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA) - Media Literacy for Democracy - Reclaim Skills Lab

This was a 5-day skills training lab on media literacy, combining lectures, hand-on exercises and meetings with practitioners (EU policy-makers, CSOs etc.). Ricardo’s role in this project was to create and deliver all the learning sessions (except the ones delivered by external guests speakers), help design the final agenda and evaluate the candidates’ proposals.

Media Literacy Workshop in a Box

In partnership with Media Literacy Ireland, I developed a ‘workshop in a box’ to provide teachers, librarians, community leaders, and learning facilitators with ready-to-use resources to deliver impactful media literacy training. This engaging workshop not only explores best practices for interacting with digital content, but also fosters awareness about the growing disinformation problem and its societal impact. Using a train-the-trainer approach, I trained more than 130 people in Ireland over the course of 2 months.