Global Alliance for Partnerships on Media and Information Literacy #emilforum

This afternoon's session at the European Media and Information Literacy Forum 2014 (at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France) started with a focus on the Global Alliance for Partnerships on Media and Information Literacy. Carolyn Wilson (University of Toronto, Canada) introduced the strategic goals for GAPMIL and its priorities for the short term. Its terms of reference are being finalised currently. The website for GAPMIL is at http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/media-development/media-literacy/global-alliance-for-partnerships-on-media-and-information-literacy/
Maria Torras Carme (representing the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions - including the information literacy section) talked about the importance of partnerships. She also identified that the information literacy and media literacy needed to identify their common ground and work together to support Media and Information Literacy worldwide. Common themes in the ML and IL included the inclusion and intergration of MIL into the curriculum, the concern that MIL should not just be seen as a technical issue, and the critical thinking aspect of ML and IL. Maria stressed that the interpersonal and physical aspects of MIL are important. She called for a cross professional intercultural dialogue: dialogue between ML and IL experts. Finally Maria mentioned areas were there could be active collaboration e.g. working with librarians to develop teachers' MIL.
Following this Alan Rosenblatt (Turner 4D, USA) mainly advocated active use of social media to promote awareness of MIL. He urged us all to tweet why we though Media and Information Literacy was important (so obviously I did - see https://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=%23milit&src=typd). The last of the speakers to provide their perspective on GAPMIL was Chido Onumah (GAPMIL) who stressed the important of identifying key partners in the African context, including ones concerned with particular issues such as journalists' freedom. He also mentioned the need for a national platform on MIL in Nigeria (a project I think they are working on with UNESCO), the need to create discussion on the intergration of MIL curriculum, and the need for world market in media. Ismail Abdel Ghafar (Arab Academy, Egypt) chaired the session and made a nice summing up of the presentations before the session was opened to the audience.