Belinha S. De Abreu, PhD. is a global media literacy educator. She served as an International Expert to the Forum on Media & Information Literacy for UNESCO’s Communication & Information Section. Her research interests include media and information literacy education, educational technology, global perspectives, critical thinking, privacy & big data, civic discourse, young adults, and teacher training. Dr. De Abreu’s focus is on the impact of learning as a result of media and technology consumed by K–12 students; providing students with viable, real-life opportunities for engaging in various technological environments while in turn encouraging students to be creative and conscious users of technology and media.

Dr. De Abreu is the founder of the International Media Literacy Research Symposium (IMLRS), and was the recipient of the 2021 National Media Literacy Education’s Media Literacy Research Award. She serves as the President of the International Council for Media Literacy (IC4ML), formerly known as the National Telemedia Council, a national non-profit organization that has been promoting a media-wise, literate, global society since 1953. IC4ML also produces The Journal of Media Literacy for which Dr. De Abreu is a member of the editorial board and has been a guest editor on several occasions.

Dr. De Abreu holds a BA in Communications with a concentration in television production and public relations, an MLS in Library Science and Instructional Technology, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on media literacy from the University of Connecticut.

Dr. De Abreu’s work has been featured on NPR, RTP Internacional, Genesis 560-Canada no Ar, National Press Club, American Journalism Review, and U.S. News and World Report among other sources. She is the author of Media Literacy for Justice: Lessons for Changing the World (ALA: Neal-Schuman, 2022), Teaching Media Literacy (ALA: Neal-Schuman, 2019), Mobile Learning through Digital Media Literacy (Peter Lang, 2017), author/editor of Media Literacy, Justice and Equity (Routledge, 2023), and the author/co-editor of Global Media Literacy in a Digital Age (Peter Lang, 2016), Media Literacy Education in Action: Theoretical and Pedagogical Perspectives (Routledge, 2014), and the author of Media Literacy, Social Networking and the Web 2.0 World for the K–12 Educator (Peter Lang, 2011).