The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is inviting media organisations of all sizes from around the world to join a global movement on Media and Information Literacy (MIL) for Media, which it is spearheading through its Global Media Partnership on MIL.
UNESCO said media organizations of all sizes can join the Partnership to build strategic connections with other media organisations and create collaborative events and initiatives, thereby achieving greater impact on societies.
According to the United Nations agency, the initiative offers access to tailored tools and practical resources designed to help media integrate and advance MIL practices to engage audiences, learn from and inspire other media, promote media sustainability and support democratic processes and peacebuilding.
UNESCO also referred to more details of benefits for media organization joining its Global Media Partnership on MIL contained in Indicator 7 of the “Media and Information Literacy Toolkit for Media”, which is aimed at providing a guide for media collaboration and planning for public emergencies that prioritizes MIL; presenting examples of successful partnerships for inspiration; suggesting ideas for collaborative approaches to public education on MIL; and providing members with a Call to Action template to enable them to commit publicly to enlisting in The Global Media Partnership on MIL and joining the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Alliance.
Media managers are also encouraged to sign-up to the Partnership by joining the UNESCO MIL Alliance, a global collaborative network of organizations and individual experts committed to advancing policies, strategies, and practices that strengthen media and information literacy worldwide.
According to UNESCO, through the exchange of knowledge, research, communication, and good practices, the Alliance contributes to its work in this field.
It said since its inception, the MIL Alliance has fostered international cooperation to promote society-wide access to MIL competencies, helping communities become more resilient to disinformation, misinformation, and hate speech, adding that ultimately, the MIL Alliance seeks to build partnerships that drive global MIL development and impact, while amplifying the voices and work of the international MIL community.
UNESCO explained that the Alliance currently brings together more than 400 organizations and 200 individual experts from over 100 countries and that registration remains open to organizations and individuals actively engaged in MIL who wish to contribute to and collaborate within the Alliance.
It said although UNESCO will coordinate specific MIL in media actions, the wider UNESCO MIL Alliance will also connect member media organizations to a worldwide network of MIL researchers, civil society organizations and educators.
For more information and to join the Partnership, please go to: https://community.unesco.org/milAlliance/s/ApplicationProcess?language=en_US.
