UNESCO MIL Alliance

The MIL Alliance (or GAPMIL) Takes Action

MIL Webinars

Join the GAPMIL community for free webinars on media and information literacy topics featuring MIL leaders across the globe. The webinars will be open to the general public, particularly youth, parents/guardians, and the aged.

Global Online Resources

How can you help maintain healthy information, technology, media environments?

We have worked with our global organizational partners and MIL leaders to provide a list of quality free media and information literacy resources and materials. See all available resources from the GAPMIL community here.

Crowdsourcing MIL-Related COVID-19 Responses

GAPMIL will crowdsource its COVID-19 response through online actions undertaken by individual members to ensure impact that is more significant. To share MIL-related COVID-19 responses for which you need crowdsourcing support, send relevant information to gapmil@lists.unesco.org. Only members of GAPMIL are authorized to access this mailing list. If you are not yet a member of GAPMIL, you can join via this link: https://en.unesco.org/themes/media-and-information-literacy/gapmil/join.

Tips Against the Infodemic

• Look always for certified national contact points against the ‘pandemia’ (e.g., Ministry of Health, Ministry of Information & Communication, etc.)
• Verify the information you read about the ‘pandemia’ (e.g. homemade medicines and conspiracy theories about 5G)
• Visit national and regional digital solidarity and digital training platforms
• Search and look for easy-to-use fact-checking tools
• Learn more about new initiatives launched by UNESCO’s and its partners, like UNESCO’s
  • Information Sharing and Countering Disinformation and Global Education Coalition, and new resources on distance learning – all in the context of COVID-19 responses.  
  • Audio resources to counter disinformation
  • Visual resources to download and share

UNESCO MIL CLICKS

MIL CLICKS is a social media innovation led by UNESCO. MIL CLICKS is a way for people - especially youth - to acquire media and information literacy (MIL) competencies in their normal day-to-day use of the Internet and social media and to engage in peer education in an atmosphere of browsing, playing, connecting, sharing, and socializing. More information at https://en.unesco.org/MILCLICKS

Stay connected to the global MIL movement. Share and sign the MIL Clicks Pact, now available in 5 languages,  https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/mil_clicks_pact_english.pdf

GAPMIL Youth Ambassadors' COVID-19 Information Campaign

GAPMIL Youth Ambassadors launched an information campagin through the "Health and Information Literacy Access (HILA) Alliance" initiative in order to address three key challenges, as it relates to COVID-19: 

• Ensure the accessibility of credible information for marginalized individuals and communities;
• Build media and information literacy capacities in order to tackle dis- and mis-information and stimulate MIL peer education and learning online;
• and Combat racism and discrimination by mobilizing people, governments, and organizations to support the development and realization of more inclusive communities both online and offline.

Over 60 volunteers have been mobilized from around the world to support the campaign with translation, design, advocacy, and educational work. The GAPMIL Youth Ambassadors are committed to breaking the COVID-19 disinformation cycle in marginalized communities who lack access to credible resources of information as a result of a lack of internet connection, different accessibility needs, and or existing socio-economic inequalities and injustice. The core activities of the HILA Alliance initiative include: a database of credible sources of information; a comprehensive information guide on COVID-19; multimedia content, including infographics, webinars, radio broadcasts, and community-based interventions; and MIL capacity building.

Credible Resource List: a database that contains credible sources of information on COVID-19, in over 70 languages. Information sources include international organizations, such as the WHO, civil society organization, and health authorities.

• Grid view: https://airtable.com/shrX7qsmyq9qmrKPX
• Kanban view: https://airtable.com/shrKYfDOp6QrneMYi

COVID-19 Information Guide: a compilation of information on COVID-19 from credible sources, using simple and easily accessible language. The GAPMIL Youth Ambassadors aim to translate the package to as many languages as possible, with particular emphasis on languages spoken and utilized by marginalized communities, including Indigenous and sign languages. Sample guide in Portuguese and English.

GAPMIL

The Global Alliance for Partnerships on Media and Information Literacy (GAPMIL) is a groundbreaking effort to promote international cooperation to ensure that all citizens have access to media and information competencies. UNESCO and partners all over the world spearhead GAPMIL. Organizations from over one hundred countries have agreed to join forces and stand together for change. This pioneering initiative was launched during the Global Forum for Partnerships on Media and Information Literacy (MIL), which took place from 26 to 28 June 2013.

More information at http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/media-development/media-literacy/global-alliance-for-partnerships-on-media-and-information-literacy/

Contacts:

Some of the GAPMIL partners are listed below:

Co-Chairs:

Mr Jesus Lau (Mexico)
Professor
Director of the USBI VER Library
Universidad Veracruzana

Mr Alexandre Le Voci Sayad (Brazil)
CEO of ZeitGeist
Director of Advisor Consultancy Board of Educamídiia Programme

Co-Vice-Chairs:

Ms Joanne Plante (Canada)
Head of the Libraries Division
City of Laval

Ms Sherri Hope Culver (USA)
Associate Professor
Director of the Center for Media and Information Literacy
Temple University

Co-Secretary-Generals:

Ms Irene Andriopoulou (Greece)
EU Media Literacy Expert / Analyst
National Centre of Audiovisual Media & Communication - EKOME SA

Ms Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe (USA)
Professor and Coordinator for Information Literacy Services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Regional Representative for Africa:

Mr Wallace Gichunge (Kenya)
Executive Director
Centre for Media and Information Literacy

Regional Representative for Arab States:

Mr Ahmad Al-Khasawneh (Jordan)
Professor, Hashemite University, Director of Center Information
Communication and e-Learning Technology

Regional Representative for Asia-Pacific:

Mr Jose Reuben Q. Alagaran II (Philippines)
President, Philippine Association for Media and Information Literacy

Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean:

Mr Felipe Chibás Ortiz (Cuba)
Associate Professor, University of Sao Paulo

Regional Representative for North America and Europe:

Ms Tessa Jolls (USA)
President, Center for Media Literacy
Founder, Consortium for Media Literacy

Youth Representatives:

Ms Beatrice Bonami (Brazil)
GAPMIL Youth Ambassador for Latin America and the Carribean
Researcher, University of Sao Paulo

Ms Bushra Ebadi (Canada)
GAPMIL Youth Ambassador for Europe and North America
Youth Adviser, Canadian Commission for UNESCO

Mr Daniel Nwaeze (Nigeria)
Media and Communications, Afrika Youth Movement
Global Youth Coordinator, GAPMIL Youth Sub-Committee

UNESCO

Alton Grizzle, Programme Specialist

Jing Xu, Associate Project Officer

Hana Achargui, Junior Project Consultant