UNESCO organized the Host Media Literacy summit in collaboration with the MICA Centre for Development Management & Communication on October 17th to 18th, 2024. Among this was 18 participants aged from 16 up to 25 years present at a conference and further discussed with a series of critical themes around media literacy and AI issues.
The summit gives an opportunity of celebrating progress achieved regarding international media and information literacy within this week-long observance from 24th-31st October. During more than six years CDMC has been actively on UNESCO’s MILID network to push the goal whereby societies are made media-literate.
For the first time, conference participants were able to interact with experts, among them academics and journalists reflecting on the rapid dynamics in the digital landscape. Thus, the discussions underlined two contrasting natures of generative AI: tools meant for the enhancement of communication versus the risks associated with spreading misinformation and privatization of information. Hezekiel Dlamini, communication and information advisor at UNESCO’s New Delhi office, cited the integration of AI literacy into media literacy frameworks as a means of addressing such challenges.
The delegates were divided into smaller groups and were tasked with the exploration of interconnections between MIL and AI, developing actionable recommendations for addressing complex issues in journalism and policy-making. Central to their discussions was the increasing urgency for media literacy as a defense against the proliferation of misinformation and challenges posed by AI technologies such as deep fakes.
The keynote speaker was Shakoor Rather, Editor-in-Chief of INDIAai, who emphasized the importance of media literacy in the digital age by saying, “In our fast-paced digital world, media literacy is not just a skill but an essential survival tool.” He noted how AI can be an ally and a threat, depending on how it is leveraged.
The event concluded with the results wherein the first prize of three people, namely, Anaya Tewari and Dhruv Pandey from Team Mediacore along with Suryansha Rawat on project “AI in Media Literacy & Education”, topped. Teams Human Intelligence, taking the second prize position and mAlya securing third spot ended the event.
Professors Manisha Pathak-Shelat and Ruchi Tewari from MICA-CDMC are summarized the event’s achievement and they successfully took aboard the varied stakeholders such as the student fraternity, the policymakers, journalists, and corporate leadership onto an honest platform of engagement regarding issues and debates which raise the ethical and practical questionability of AI vis a vis society.
UNESCO is engaged in the pursuit of media and information literacy worldwide, concentrating on people’s ability to be critical users of the digital world.
