UNICEF continues promoting media literacy in formal education through teacher trainings and development of educational resources
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TBILISI, Georgia, 24 October 2023 – UNICEF, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and the Communications Commission, continues to integrate media literacy into formal education. The educational resources, including the new manual, were presented at the Teachers Forum, organized at the Ministry of Education and Science. The forum was part of the Global Media and Information Literacy Week.
The event was opened by the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Tamar Makharashvili, Member of the Communications Commission Natia Kukuladze, and the Representative of UNICEF in Georgia, Jesper Moller.
“This year’s topic for Global Media and Information Literacy Week is Media and Information Literacy in Digital Spaces. And indeed, our role is to equip children and young people with media literacy and digital competencies,” said Jesper Moller, Representative of UNICEF in Georgia. “Many thanks to the Ministry of Education and Science and the Communications Commission for the excellent partnership. Our special thanks to those schools who are pioneers of integrating media literacy in their school programmes. At UNICEF, we stay committed to continually advocating for media literacy being a part of school curriculums and supporting teachers and young people throughout the journey,” Moller added.
As part of the initiative, 600 teachers have already been trained in media literacy and in partnership with the Teachers’ Professional Development Centre. A second phase of the trainings is underway which plans to trainan additional 1000 teachers by the end of this year.
The media literacy programme has already been offered for inclusion in school curricula since September. Several schools in Tbilisi and Kutaisi have already integrated media literacy in their programmes. A school in Ozurgeti has established a media literacy club.
Advocacy meetings with Education Resource Centres and school directors in Batumi, Ozurgeti, Zugdidi and Kutaisi were organized last week by UNICEF in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science and the Communications Commission to further advocate for media literacy and to provide information about available educational resources like education standards and media literacy manuals.
During these meetings the representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science, UNICEF and the Communications Commission talked about the importance of media literacy and available resources, and invited the schools to join the initiative. School teachers from the four cities shared their practical experiences about teaching media literacy and highlighted the importance of this critical skill for children’s quality education.
Media literacy is one of the crosscutting competencies under the National Curriculum as well as an essential skill in the twenty-first century. Today’s students need this skill to succeed in their careers in the digital era. Integration of media literacy in formal education will enable young people to be better prepared to navigate the wealth of information they encounter through various media.
Media Literacy manual is available here.
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UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.
For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org/georgia/
