By Joseph Edegbo
Activities to mark this year’s Global Media and Information Literacy Week in Ghana begin on Friday
With the theme “Media and Information Literacy for the Public Good” the commemoration will focus on how the global community can use the week-long celebration to build MIL as key to a vision of information as a public good, the Executive Director of Penplusbytes, Juliet Amoah, has said.
It was introduced in 2011 in Fez, Morocco, and captured in the Fez Declaration on Media and Information Literacy (MIL).
This, according to Amoah, was long before the exponential rise in disinformation, political opposition, increasing impact of digital platforms and the COVID-19 pandemic and UNESCO recognizes the need for an enhanced co-operation among stakeholders to sustain the media and information literacy for development.
Under the auspices of UNESCO Ghana and in line with achieving Target 4.7 of SDG 4 (ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development).
It was against this background, “Penplusbytes, with support from DW Akademie and the Ghana Commission for UNESCO and in partnership with the Department of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana and the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), is once again making bigger strides in the promotion of MIL in Ghana using various citizen-cantered activities to commemorate the 2021 Global MIL Week from October 24th to 31st, 2021.
According to Moah, there is a growing need within the MIL space in Ghana for stakeholder cooperation. Some great works have been done over the years within the space but everyone seems to be working in silos.
“This year, our key activities will seek to enhance these collaborations that ensure a concerted effort towards using credible information to promote national development,” she added.
“Activities to mark the global celebration in Ghana will include an opening ceremony, exhibition, a virtual academic conference, workshops/seminars, a webinar, the screening of a newly produced MIL film series across the country and a social media campaign starting from 22nd to 31st of October 2021.’ she concludes.