Global Media And Information Literacy Week Starts In Amman

(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency)

Amman, October 30 (Petra) -- The Global media and Information Literacy Week conference started in Amman on Wednesday under "The New Digital Frontiers of Information: Media and Information Literacy for Public-interest Information."
The conference, organised by UNESCO and the Ministry of government Communication, was sponsored by the Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF) President, Princess, Rym Ali, the founder of the Jordan Media Institute (JMI).
Princess Rym said in an opening session that the conference holds new ideas and proposals that contribute to formulating the "Amman Declaration," noting the need to keep pace with the rapid development in information creation and the need to master digital skills to navigate complex reality and avoid the risks of manipulation, fraud and social inequality.
She warned that inequality in access to digital technology may limit democratic participation and economic growth and marginalise groups, pointing to the importance of acquiring critical thinking and verification skills as an essential part of media literacy.
She discussed the role of the JMI, established in 2010, as a pioneering institution that contributed to training teachers and youth in media and information literacy.
She discussed the Institute's continued efforts in calling for expanding the scope of media and information literacy at the national level, producing educational resources in Arabic and supporting the government's adoption of the National Plan for Disseminating Media and Information Literacy in 2020, under which some 3,000 teachers were trained on media literacy.
The Princess expressed pride in Jordan's progress, looking forward to Jordan becoming a regional centre for developing media and information literacy. She praised UNESCO for its "pivotal" role in supporting these efforts, especially in light of the Corona pandemic, climate change, and wars in Gaza, Yemen, Ukraine and Sudan.
She discussed the challenges facing the movement of information in the Middle East, as the Israeli aggression on Gaza has led to selective perceptions of reality.
She discussed the credible media and social media's role in promoting misinformation and false information, especially with the emergence of new technologies.
She said that journalists face restrictions in Gaza and that the coverage of some international media outlets often fails to reflect the facts shown by Arab networks.
She discussed the importance of maintaining dialogue, mutual understanding and coexistence in an era of division, urging the promotion of political, cultural and social pluralism.
Minister of Government Communications Mohammad Momani said, "I welcome you to Amman, the capital of civilised initiatives under its Hashemite leadership. It embraces everything that constitutes a qualitative addition to global humanitarian efforts in many fields, including science, education, communication, media and culture.
"At the forefront of these efforts is hosting this event for the first time in an Arab country and hosting this elite, whose opinions and suggestions we hope will constitute a new contribution to global efforts to develop media and information literacy."
Momani added, "We meet today in Jordan, the country whose positions constitute a solid wall in defending international principles, including the principles of UNESCO, on the occasion of the 13th World Conference on Media and Information Literacy, which includes this elite of thinkers and experts in the educational, media and cultural fields, the elite concerned with devoting and defending humanitarian principles in the face of a raging attack that has affected these principles and violated their foundations."

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