It’s 6:30 a.m. in Abuja, the sun just bloomed on the horizon, golden petals stretching outwards, and the skies were sending signals to Nigerians to go out and begin their daily activities. On this Monday morning, Macaulay Olushola was already on his second cup of tea and working on a number of things, including a project concept to address the disinfodemic in conflict prone environments, a webinar presentation of COVID-19 communication perceptions, and preparations for the five meetings he had scheduled for that day.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the spread of fake news and rumors has contributed to a worldwide crisis of disinfodemic. Macaulay, working with UNESCO as the National Programme Officer for the Communication and Information (CI) Sector, was soon to discover that his work on Media and Information Literacy would propel him and his team to the frontlines of the fight to eliminate and reverse the adverse effects of mis- and dis-information outbreaks. Luckily for him, setting up a camp inside his home was a smooth and quick transition: his wife, Kehinde and their three kids, Emperor, Damilola and Toluwa, are attuned to his dedication to his job, as a result they were conscious not to disturb him when it comes to his office routines.
“Daddy’s workloads seem to have increased since he started working from home. We do honestly understand how much he loves his work. Unfortunately we thought we could get the better part of him while working from home, but your guess is as good as mine.” His soft-spoken fourteen-year-old son, Emperor said, with mixed smiles.
Macaulay joined UNESCO Abuja in 2007. He is the brain behind a series of interlinked interventions, such as regional investigations on communication perceptions on COVID-19, regional webinars, call-for competitions to engage large audience groups in media literacy campaigns to combat the accompanying disinfodemic, all of which are undertaken by UNESCO Abuja Regional Office, covering Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Macaulay Olushola, National Programme Officer of the Communication and Information Sector
To date, five webinars, two call-for competitions, and a host of other activities have been implemented. Considering the relatively low literacy rate in the region, with Nigeria as an instance where according to UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 62% of people aged 15 and above are described as literate in 2018, a remarkably low figure compared to the global average of 86%, the Sector designed complementary public education interventions, relying more on audio and visual expressions, to have a wider reach among the population. As such, a seven-clip educational drama radio “Tell Me Something”, was designed in Pidgin English (a pan-Nigerian lingua franca with different versions spoken in other West African countries). Through storytelling, reliable information on COVID-19 on prevention and transmission were embedded. Millions of people across all the geopolitical zones of Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia were reached.
At 7 p.m., Macaulay was still deeply immersed in work meetings, when a message from a young webinar participant called his attention: “Thank you very much, UNESCO ABUJA REGIONAL OFFICE, for the webinar. It was an incredibly packed event and a timely one because it answered most of my questions and subtle fear on the recent happenings especially as it relates to communication and the future of work.” Macaulay cut the conversation short. He re-read the note, and allowed the positive feedback to refuel his tired self, then he read the message aloud.
Although the region is facing many challenges during this pandemic, including limited funding opportunities, digital and technological disparities within communities, and difficulties in working at the grassroots level due to the confinement, Macaulay, with his team, actively continues to respond and adapt various programmes to address the challenges.
It’s 9 p.m., Macaulay wraps up the day with a note-to-self to start the next day early with the preparation for the regional commemoration of the 2020 Global Media and Information Literacy Week which will take place between October 24 and 31, under the theme “Resisting Disinfodemic: Media and Information Literacy for Everyone and by Everyone”.
It has been a long challenging day of remote working in UNESCO Abuja Regional Office, a typical mix of big challenges, small but impactful moments of gratification and many forged alliances and partnerships towards one common goal, building a culture of peace in a time of global crisis.
He concludes.
