In an initiative by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, and cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran, UNESCO supported the week-long series of webinars on the occasion of the Media and Information Literacy Week, from 24 to 31 October 2021.
During the opening speeches of the webinars, which was attended by more than 400 participants, all the speakers reiterated the importance and urgency of Media and Information Literacy for all groups of the society, especially those marginalized and living in remote areas, in particular in the current pandemic, and accentuated the need for strengthening the capacities of users in this field as a key competency of the 21st century.
In his remarks, Mr Eynoallahi, the Minister of Health and Medical Education said: “Today, covid-19 related news and information is a worldwide issue; therefore all the eyes are on the Media, everyone wants to have access to the latest information about this pandemic. This highlights the importance of conveying the reliable information to the public and to guide people towards a correct path”. He suggested that whenever there is a false information circulating, those in charge in the health sector, talk about the misleading information and provide people with reliable information.
Speaking about the background of the proclamation of the Media and Information Literacy week and UNESCO’s activities in this field, Mr Cvetan Cvetkovski, Officer-in-Charge of UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office highlighted that the new changes in the information ecosystem requires that strengthening of Media and Information Literacy competency be an ongoing effort rather than a single, one off training.
It’s very difficult to navigate between facts, opinions and false information, here is where we feel firsthand the need for MIL competency
The week-long celebrations will continue as an excellent platform to advance collaboration and capacity building in the field of Media and Information Literacy and will include following themes: Media and Information Literacy in Covid-19 Pandemic, Media and Information Literacy, cyber space and digital media, Media and Information Literacy and economy; Media and Information Literacy, children and young adults; Media and Information Literacy and monitoring media content and cyber space; Media and Information Literacy, fundamental skills in smart cities and Media and Information Literacy, individual and social health.