Reality is something that is imposed—this statement is borrowing the view of the semiotics researcher and philosopher Charles Sanders Pierce. The statement implies there is nothing to do but deal with it. The world is learning hard lessons with the COVID-19 pandemic experience; surely, one of those lessons is that technology is part of reality and data will not stop to be produced and shared. UNESCO and The MIL Alliance, which is led by UNESCO, are sure that media and information literacy (MIL) is a counter-part in this new reality MIL needs to be available for everyone as a fundamental part of the Human Rights of accessing, reading and communicating with freedom of opinion.
The group of skills that MIL (Media and Information Literacy) represents is directly connected to the reality citizens are facing every day. MIL needs to be applied in everyday life as a “praxis” and be considered in public policies for the benefit of social development and wellbeing. This point of view is reflected in research studies and data produced by academia and in partnership with academic every year.
For instance, a recent research study of IADB (Inter-American Development Bank) shows that the lack of skills related to MIL and digital fluency has raised the inequality of access to quality education among Latin America and Caribbean students. Considering micro areas within a country, teachers and families that were not prepared to act as digital mentors saw lower learning rates compared to those who were more familiar with such a role.*
Based on this, there are four interconnected approaches on MIL that seem to be more important than ever to guarantee equality:
- Digital fluency and ethics on remote learning
- Critical thinking in media literacy
- Skills on information literacy and research
- Freedom of expression
The UNESCO MIL Alliance (GAPMIL) is proud to see how many webinars were produced and shared by members around the globe. We are ready to improve even more the partnerships from now on. At the same time, the 2020 Global MIL Week is getting ready to offer new perspectives, share practices and present partnerships in a digital format, hosted by South Korea.
Anachronism and denialism may become a serious issue in the coming months in the sense that these stop people from being part of the opportunity to learn and develop. Daily realities make it urgent that MIL become more present in education, sciences or technology public policies. After all, “the times, they are a-changin.” And the times, they hold opportunities and challenge.
*See the full research:
Alexandre Le Voci Sayad
Mil Alliance International, Co-chairman
ZeitGeist Education, Director/ Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo (PUC), Researcher
Brazil
