In a groundbreaking UNESCO initiative, “Media and Information Literacy for Youth Civic Engagement in Africa”, young men and women primarily from six African countries were empowered with Media and Information Literacy skills to think critically, make informed choices, and act with discernment when navigating the online information ecosystem.
The initiative was carried out from 2020 to 2023 thanks to the support of Japan and is part of UNESCO’s strategy towards youth organizations to train them in integrating Media and Information Literacy in their daily operations.
"With 75% of young people worldwide online, UNESCO strategy is clear. UNESCO will partner with stakeholders around the world to ensure large scale training of youth affording them the necessary Media and Information Literacy competencies to be change makers for clean information ecologies, freedoms, and peace.", Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO.
The target countries for this initiative included Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ethiopia, Gabon, Namibia, and Nigeria. The project provided more than 230 youth organizations from these countries with comprehensive training on Media and Information Literacy and institutional capacity enhancement. In so doing, youth organizations were enabled to integrate Media and Information Literacy in their policies and strategies irrespective of their development mandate, while thousands of youths were empowered with critical thinking skills.
Through the various interventions, the project has made a significant impact. Young minds collaborated, used their skills to tackle complex global challenges such as disinformation and hate speech, promoting peace building and dialogue, human rights particularly in time of crisis, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals, in general.
Beneficiaries and key partners echoed the transformative impact of the project. One participant expressed gratitude, stating, “The knowledge acquired will be of wonderful use to me, my association, and the community." Others emphasized the practicality of the training and its relevance, and that they returned equipped and eager to share their experience with their organizations.
As one participant attested, "thanks to the training, my language has changed on social networks. I am not a journalist or a communicator, but I feel the need to have healthy communication on social media and to be an actor of ‘civism". This transformation in mindset highlighted the project's success in cultivating resilient citizens and fostering informed and engaged youth.
Overall, the initiative reached these key achievements:
- 231 youth organizations and 2414 youth leaders (close to 50% young women) received training on how to integrate MIL into their policies and practices.
- 90 youth organizations reported that they have started to integrate MIL into their operations, recognizing its potential to foster informed civic engagement.
