The Albanian Media Institute (AMI) organized a public conference on "Media and Information Literacy (MIL) in formal education in Albania," an activity that brought together UNESCO, the EU Delegation in Albania, the Ministry of Education and Sports of Albania, the Agency for Quality Assurance in Pre-University Education (ASCAP), directors and teachers from primary and secondary schools from Tirana, Lezhë, Elbasan, Durrës, as well as civil society organizations operating in the field of MIL.
The conference was organized to take stock with stakeholders across the country on the piloting of the MIL curriculum in 20 primary and secondary schools in Lezhë, Elbasan, Durrës, and Tirana, a process that began in 2020, with the support of the UNESCO EU-funded project "Building Trust in Media in South East Europe and Turkey - Phase 2”. The Albanian Media Institute and ASCAP adapted the UNESCO MIL curriculum to local needs in Albania, developed teacher training modules, and trained 10 trainers and 240 teachers in the 20 schools involved in the piloting.
Throughout this process, teachers had the opportunity to integrate the curriculum into teaching around access information, the development of critical thinking skills and the creation of media content. In total, 8.456 pupils from primary and 1.372 students from secondary schools had the opportunity to learn about MIL in their studies.
The piloting brought challenges related to infrastructure in schools, the training and professional development of the teachers, the teaching load of the teaching staff, and the short period of the piloting; however, school directors and teachers emphasized that the integration of the MIL curriculum in teaching is a necessity and as such, should continue in a sustainable manner.
The Deputy Minister of Education and Sports, Mrs. Nina Guga, expressed the commitment and institutional support for integrating MIL in formal education, which she considered a "legal, educational, and moral obligation" reflected in the National Strategy for the Development of Education, as part of the development of digital and media competencies, and democratic citizenship.
The Deputy Head of the Political Section of the Delegation of the European Union in Albania, Mr. Jean-Baptiste Le Bras, and the Project Coordinator at UNESCO Brussels Office, Mrs. Adeline Hulin, stressed that MIL is essential and a shared priority for the European Union and UNESCO, considering the global spread of disinformation, misinformation and propaganda.
MIL is critical to equip young generations with the skills and knowledge necessary to counter all forms of hate, engage responsibly in public debate, and strengthen their critical thinking in the face of disinformation, conspiracy theories, and identity-based propaganda and incitement."
The aim of all stakeholders is now to expand this initiative at the national level to all schools in Albania, giving the opportunity to every student and teacher to get acquainted with MIL competencies and foster them to responsibly use media, as well as other sources of information (libraries, archives, the Internet, etc.) and to practice critical thinking skills as they examine and create various content.