Media and information literacy for children’s libraries from 85 regions of Russia

At the invitation of the Russian State Children’s Library, UNESCO IITE participated in delivery of the advanced training course for librarians, which was held under the programme “Children’s Library in the Digital Environment and Media Space” on 25 October 2019. Within the course, over one hundred library specialists from 85 Russian regions attended the online lecture “Media and Information Literacy and Media Education in the Modern World” delivered by Ms. Tatyana Murovana, Programme Specialist at UNESCO IITE.

Ensuring a qualified and effective exchange of information with the outside world, media and information literacy is considered one of the key components of the “21st century literacy” and refers to the so-called “soft skills”. Meanwhile, this type of literacy is not developed purposefully within formal or informal education in Russia, which gives libraries the opportunity to fill this free and highly-demanded niche.

During the lecture, the participants were informed about modern approaches to understanding and the essence of media and information literacy, gained insight into the specifics of modern media, critical thinking and how to contribute to its formation, filter bubbles, echo camera, fake news and post-truth, as well as explored what impact AI technologies have on media space.

The lecture was dedicated to the Global Media and Information Literacy Week hold on 24–31 October 2019. This annual global event has been held since 2012 under the leadership of UNESCO in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Partnerships on Media and Information Literacy (GAPMIL) and the International University Network on Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue (MILID University Network).