On 11th June 2021, the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee hosted a panel event discussing 'Digital Literacies for a Healthy Democracy'. The event was led by Dr Elinor Carmi, parliamentary academic fellow with the DCMS Committee and postdoctoral research associate at Liverpool University.
The event brought together experts to share their insights around digital literacy in different contexts:
- Seyi Akiwowo, Founder and Executive Director of Glitch
- Hafsha Dadabhai Shaikh, Director at Get Families Talking
- Sally Dyson, Head of Digital and Development at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO)
- Professor Simeon Yates, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Liverpool University
The panel also considered the Online Safety Bill, which is expected to be published in draft form for pre-legislative scrutiny this year. This event attracted attendees from a variety of professional domains including: digital literacy practitioners, academics, civil society leaders and policymakers from the UK and internationally.
Dr Holmes-Henderson provided input from her research into Classical rhetoric, citizenship and communicative democracy. Her work on these topics includes:
Holmes-Henderson, A. (2021) ‘Developing multiliteracies through Classical mythology in British classrooms’, in L. Maurice (ed.) Our Mythical Education: The Reception of the Classical World in Formal Education, Brill
Holmes-Henderson, A. (2020a) ‘Surviving the infodemic – teaching students to read between the lines’, Winston Churchill Memorial Trust blog, 13th October 2020, https://www.wcmt.org.uk/about-us/blog/blog-surviving-infodemic-teaching-students-read-between-lines
Holmes-Henderson, A. (2020b) ‘Teaching critical literacy in schools: a research-informed approach’ in C. Coyle (ed.) Identifying Fake News: critical literacy and the school library, School Library Association, Swindon.
Holmes-Henderson, A. and Tempest, K. (2018) ‘Classics and twenty-first-century skills’ in A. Holmes-Henderson, S. Hunt and M. Musié (eds.) Forward with Classics. Classical languages in schools and communities, Bloomsbury academic.
Holmes-Henderson, A. (2014) Reading between the lines: improving the UK’s critical literacy education, Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, https://www.wcmt.org.uk/fellows/reports/reading-between-lines-improving-uks-critical-literacy-education which informed the National Literacy Trust/APPG Literacy’s Parliamentary Commission Report on Critical Media Literacy and Fake News (2018) https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/fake-news-and-critical-literacy-final-report/
Back to: Dr Arlene Holmes-Henderson's Knowledge Exchange Fellowship page
