New! Online Facilitated Media Literacy Institute in August 2022

UNESCO's MIL Alliance (formerly GAPMIL) formed an International Steering Committee (ISC), headed by Jesus Lau and Alexandre Le Voci Sayad. The ISC has worked to provide structure to the new organizaiton, and adopted a Strategic Operating Plan to help inform the volunteer work that the ISC undertakes. An election is upcoming for new ISC members who will take over at the end of 2022. The attached booklet was designed by Irene Andriopoulou, Secretary General of the ISC, to help provide information on the members of the ISC and their functions. Please check it out!
A new article by CML's Tessa Jolls examines how new community norms, driven through social media, call for new ways of looking at how student expression should be encouraged and guided on school campuses. This article was published in: Marketing, Communication, Technology and Innovation in MIL Cities, edited by Drs. Mitsuru Yanaze and Felipe Chibas Ortiz (University of Sao Paulo Press, 2019). ISBN 9 7885572 052290 This book addresses life in MIL Cities, which are smart cities that integrate social responsibilities and goals of human development with new technologies such as blockchain and AI. Contact chibas_f@yahoo.es for more information
90-minute course makes evidence-based media literacy education available to everyone, everywhere in the world
“Now is the time for media literacy to take a more prominent seat at the education table, as well as around family dinner tables,” said Jolls. “Media literacy educators and practitioners have long known that there are countless applications of media literacy, but the current epidemic of harmful disinformation has shone a spotlight on what makes CML's work more important now than ever before. We are proud to offer Global On-ramp to Media Literacy as a public service to anyone around the globe who is interested in learning more about becoming a wiser and more informed media consumer and producer. Our nation's security, our local communities, our families and our health depend upon it.”
Like a map for a journey, the Center for Media Literacy provides a vision and a guide for navigating today’s complex, global media culture. For more information about CML’s Global On-ramp to Media Literacy, please visit www.medialit.org, or follow CML on Facebook.
CML is pleased and proud to present this Special Report, Confronting the Challenges of a Participatory Culture (Fifteen Plus Years Later), with Henry Jenkins as Editor. Henry is the Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, Cinematic Arts and Education at the University of Southern California – but we know him best as a strong and faithful champion for media literacy world-wide.
No one knows how education in the United States – and elsewhere – will change as a result of COVID 19, but change is certain as parents, through dire necessity, have learned that the present education model isn’t the only one available to them, and that the present model may not be best for their children. Yes, the pandemic has been a tragedy for many families and for the nation – and the accompanying infodemic has been just as destructive. People realize more than ever that media have bias and that they cannot automatically trust the powerful images, words and sounds that comprise the media. Fortunately or unfortunately, this is a real “moment” for propelling media literacy to the forefront as a much-needed part of the social fabric, especially in regards to education, to public health and to media itself.
27 March 2020 Tessa Jolls, CML's President and CEO, and Andrew Wolff, Resident Director of the European Studies Program at Dickinson College in Bologna, Italy, were selected through a merit-based competition as the first two laureates for the NATO Security Studies Award, now part of the Fulbright-NATO Fellowship Programme in the field of cultural diplomacy. Tessa Jolls is scheduled to serve her term in Brussels in 2021, while also serving as Visiting Scholar at UC Louvain and American University, Brussels. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_174539.htm
Today, marketers know intimate details about consumers. If marketing companies are using heuristics – or patterns of behavior – to sell products and services, we need to provide everyone with heuristics, or habits of mind, to filter the media messages and be better equipped to decide for ourselves.
Media literacy education is gaining recognition around the world, and international partnerships and cooperation stand to benefit the field globally. From Latin America to Azerbaijan, educators recognize that media literacy is essential for life in a global, media-driven culture. See Connections/November 2019.
Throughout history, activists and innovators have stepped up to lead the charge towards justice during times of change. In this issue, we introduce you to some pioneers who are leveraging media literacy to build a wiser and more informed population in the digital age.