Media and digital literacies in Canadian teacher educators’ open educational practices: A post-intentional phenomenology

MIL - glossary item

Media and information literacy (MIL) is defined by UNESCO as a combination of the fields of media literacy and information literacy where knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for life and work come together. This term considers all forms of media and information provisions from libraries, archives, museums, education, and the internet.

UNESCO outlines five laws of MIL which are intended to guide stakeholders to apply and develop MIL. As presented in the UNESCO archives, these include:
  1. Information, communication, libraries, media, technology, the Internet as well as other forms of information providers are for use in critical civic engagement and sustainable development. They are equal in stature and none is more relevant than the other or should be ever treated as such.
  2. Every citizen is a creator of information/knowledge and has a message. They must be empowered to access new information/knowledge and to express themselves. MIL is for all – women and men equally – and a nexus of human rights.
  3. Information, knowledge, and messages are not always value neutral, or always independent of biases. Any conceptualization, use and application of MIL should make this truth transparent and understandable to all citizens.
  4. Every citizen wants to know and understand new information, knowledge and messages as well as to communicate, even if she/he is not aware, admits or expresses that he/she does. Her/his rights must however never be compromised.
  5. Media and information literacy is not acquired at once. It is a lived and dynamic experience and process. It is complete when it includes knowledge, skills and attitudes, when it covers access, evaluation/assessment, use, production and communication of information, media and technology content.
Reference
UNESCO. (2018, Dec 07). Five laws of media and information literacy. [archived webpage]. https://webarchive.unesco.org/20181207154048/http:/www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/media-development/media-literacy/five-laws-of-mil/ 

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