The “innovative methodS for Media & Information Literacy Education involving schools and librarieS” (SMILES) project will address the topic of media literacy and combating fake news in Europe, with a strong focus on digital media use and COVID-19. Following the rise of fake news and disinformation, fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a strong urgency for the participating organisations to develop and test new methods for media and information literacy. Representing libraries, media literacy organisations and a research institute, the consortium is determined to contribute to a safer and more responsible use of digital technology, particularly amongst young people. The SMILES project aims to test innovative educational approaches in the form of fake news workshops at secondary schools held by school teachers and librarians, and monitor their effectiveness. The project method is to deploy a 'train the trainer' approach, in which school teachers and librarians are equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills and materials to deliver workshops to secondary school pupils (age 12-15). Concretely, 60 school teachers and librarians are trained in organising ‘fake news’ workshops to young people; and they will organise the workshops at secondary schools in Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands for 600 participating young people.In order to reach the overall objective to enhance the digital readiness of secondary schools and empower young people to critially use digital technology, the consortium will develop three Intellectual Outputs. A Baseline study will be conducted in the three countries to research and connect different educational approaches in Europe, enabling the development of a shared methodology on fake news workshops (intellectual output 1). Based on the results of intellectual output 1, the SMILES training programme to promote the safe and responsible use of digital media tools will be developed and deployed, including the production of a manual for trainers and a digital toolkit (intellectual output 2). Finally, the project partners will develop a report on the effectiveness of the workshops and tested methodology in the three countries (intellectual output 3). As part of the project, transnational meetings and dissemination activities will lead to a sharing of knowledge on the effectiveness of the fake news workshops between three European countries (Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands), as well as on a wider level through a dedicated dissemination plan. The ultimate goal of the project is to help create more awareness and trust of young people in the institutions that provide verified information - i.e. schools, libraries - and the essential role these institutes play in the information society.