South Africa set to host 10th Annual UNESCO Media Information and Literacy Week
South Africa will host the 10th UNESCO Global Media Information and Literacy Week from the 25th to 29th October 2021. Having been launched in 2011, the Global Media and Information Literacy or MIL Week, seeks to empower people to develop themselves and their societies through enhanced capacities in communication and information. This year, MIL Week will be held under the theme “Media and information literacy for the public good”
On behalf of the President of South Africa, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga who is also responsible for UNESCO relations will officially open the MIL Week on Monday, 25th October.
As part of the programme, Minister Motshekga will also present at the Plenary Session: State-linked response on media and information literacy policies and strategies.
Local speakers include Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Mrs Khumbudzo Ntshavheni who will address the Parallel Session: Media and information literacy for global citizenship and addressing digital transformation on Wednesday 27 October.
The seeds of Global Media and Information Literacy Week were planted in 2011 in Fez, Morocco, and captured in the Fez Declaration on Media and Information Literacy (MIL)1. This was long before the exponential rise in disinformation, political polarisation, increasing influence of digital platforms as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, which in itself has seen a plethora of fake news stem up, particularly across social media.
As the first Sub-Saharan African country to host the MIL Week, South Africa takes its place amongst nations across the globe that continue to advocate for a more informed media and indeed citizenry.
The five sub-themes for the 2021 Global Media and Information Literacy Week are:
- Positioning media and information literacy in the post-pandemic world,
- Enhancing co-operation among stakeholders to sustain media and information literacy development,
- Promoting the second edition of UNESCO’s Media and Information Literacy Curriculum for Educators and Learners,
- Increasing funding opportunities, and
- Advancing media and information literacy research and knowledge. Together they aim to ensure tangible advances in the role of media and information literacy to uphold the vision of information as a public good, as the world slowly begins to move towards a new post-COVID normal.
Members of the Media are invited to register for and attend the virtual MIL Week as follows:
Dates: Monday 25 – Friday 31 October 2021
Virtual Links: To join the conference, register here (https://on.unesco.org/3aWY3z7)
After registration, you may log in to the virtual conference hall via this link: https://globalmilweek2021.infernoar.com/login.
NB: To view the full conference agenda click on the link below: https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/globalmilweek/2021/featureconference
Media Enquiries:
Elijah Mhlanga
Cell: 083 580 8275
Terence Khala - Media Liaison
Cell: 081 758 1546
