UNESCO’s media and information literacy programme aims to help citizens, in particular young people, more effectively engage with media and the Internet and develop critical competencies in using and producing information. By placing MIL in the formal national school curricula for teachers, the Ministry of Education in Morocco recognizes media and information literacy as an essential combined set of competencies for life-long learning, citizenship and good governance.

The new Moroccan MIL module of 20 hours puts a particular emphasis on the importance and functions of media in democracy, the enabling environment and the socio-cultural context for the media, as well as the use of media and information sources to enhance learning and develop critical thinking.

UNESCO’s MIL Curriculum for Teachers was launched in Fès in Morocco in June 2011. This was followed by the first Arab Regional Consultation on the Adaptation of the Curriculum which resulted in a cooperation framework on MIL with the Moroccan Ministry of Education. The Curriculum was then adapted to the Moroccan context in September 2012. It was then integrated into the national curriculum for teachers and deployed in all 15 national teacher training centers as well as 34 associate centers in Morocco. A series of trainings targeting teacher-trainers on the new MIL module is scheduled in May 2013.

The UNESCO MIL programme in Morocco is implemented within the framework of UNESCO’s global action to promote an enabling environment for freedom of expression in Arab countries. It is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).