The Media Information Literacy week was held at the United Nations in order to promote media literacy awareness where the concept of media literacy and how to develop media literacy skills was discussed. Please watch the following video: 
Video 1. Media and Information Literate Citizens: Think Critically, Click Wisely, UN, 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjYhmTC3lrc
 

Media literacy is important in particular today because due to the constant and rapid development of media and technology, people consume vast amounts of all kinds of media, including social media and mass media.
Therefore, in order to understand and become better consumers of various media, it is crucial to develop further critical thinking skills. This means, for example, having a critical and unassuming attitude when facing a media text, image, visual or audio message, a video and so forth. It is important to consider questions such as:
•    Is the source reliable? Are they unbiased / unaffiliated?
•    Are there other sources that verify the same content?
•    Is the content created from a certain point of view / for a certain purpose?
The importance of media literacy was discussed at the United Nations campaigns as mentioned earlier.
Please see video 2. The importance of media literacy, 2020.

Video 2. The importance of the media literacy, 2020. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7EcJIdj1hQ

According to the conference held in 2020 by the European Commission on the topic of "Media Literacy on Digital Age", 
"The global dependence on online connectivity during the crisis highlights the central role of media literacy and digital literacy in contemporary societies." 
As was already discussed, media literacy and the role of media and being digitally literate is vital nowadays and the topic has raised many questions and discussion, after the Covid-19 pandemic in particular, when people were facing challenges on various information. There was an interesting discussion at the session held with the topic on "Media Literacy on the Digital Age", where various experts discussed the following questions: 
•    How can societies become better informed? What tools do we have to guarantee the trustworthiness of information available for the Europeans?
•    How can EU citizens become more resilient against disinformation and its temptations to make quick, possibly irrational conclusions?
•    What has media literacy learned from COVID-19 crisis? How to retain that wisdom?
•    What are the next steps for media literacy, building on this experience, from the angles of academia, media literacy practitioners, member states, fact checkers?
 

The audience had the opportunity to hear examples about ongoing media literacy projects funded by the European Union. There have also been many other events and discussion on the media literacy topic as well as many documents, reports and publications. For example, UNESCO has prepared various papers, journals and organised annual campaigns and initiatives on raising awareness to citizens on media literacy topics. We will have the opportunity to see them more closely in the following sections.

Video 3. What does UNESCO do to promote media literacy? 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNyIupj7OGA
As we have seen from video 3. prepared by UNESCO, the leading organization promoting media and information literacy, creates various initiatives across the globe, for example the Global Media Information Literacy Week, discussing various documents and other resources and publications, curriculum for teachers and learners, multimedia teaching resources, tools, MOOC platforms and other resources (UNESCO 2021).

According to UNESCO:
"the public is disempowered in the face of opportunities and threats and each individual needs to be equipped with media and information literacy competences to understand the stakes and to contribute to and benefit from information and communication opportunities" (UNESCO, 2021).
 

A number of designers and educators from the Montana Science Center created and designed an educational experience lab called STEAM that refers to: science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (Britich Council, 2022). The STEAM lab which is a makerspace style, it encourages creative play for students and focuses on digital concepts and in understanding of science and technology concepts. In addition, the STEAM allows its users, such as professionals as well as students of all ages, to use various digital and technological opportunities. For example, using analogue experiences to create inclusive digital learning environments, designing 3D objects by LEGO as well as other tools to crafting from the tangible to the digital world. (British Council, 2022). 
According to the guidelines of UNESCO for media and information literacy, a media and information literate teacher  
•    is capable of understanding information and media messages from different information sources
•    is able to evaluate and use that understanding appropriately to solve problems
•    has acquired basic library skills
•    is capable of maximizing the use of documentary resources for learning and information sharing
•    understands and appreciates the functions of society of media and other providers such as: libraries, museums, archives, as well as  educational and research institutions.
 

Teachers and professionals should therefore develop solid skills in information literacy, digital skills for problem-solving and decision-making in educational contexts, and also library skills and understand the relation between them. Having the skills will provide them opportunities for life-ong learning through information access and ensuring them continued participation in an active intellectual and professional life.

In this section we will focus more on the Media and Information Literacy curriculum prepared and suggested by UNESCO. The main idea lies in raising awareness and providing detailed information to digital citizens on how to become media literate in the digital world of vast information and technological opportunities that are evolving continuously. This involves the following:
•    how to browse, search and filter information, data and digital content
•    how to analyse, compare, interpret and critically evaluate the credibility of sources of data, information and digital content
This leads to being able to: 
•    articulate information needs
•    search for data information and content in digital environments
•    access them and to navigate between them, and 
•    create and update personal search strategies. 
Further, being media literate means to be skilled learners, for example, learning how to recognize information needs effectively and efficiently, organizing and retrieving information and then being able to use, apply and to communicate the information for a specific problem-solving or decision-making" (UNESCO, 2008). 

This module will conclude with a quiz to test your media literacy knowledge. There are also various toolkits, guidelines and quizzes available online that are offered to test and teach media literacy skills.

Please see the following quizzes and test your skills:

• https://www.alldigitalweek.eu/stay-connected-digital-toolkit/
• http://unesco.mil-for-teachers.unaoc.org/wp-content/uploads/FET-1-Intro.pdf
   

To conclude, media literacy enables people of all ages to be media literate and develop their critical-thinking skills when searching, browsing, creating and acting in all forms of media communication.  Yet, media and information literacy is a set of competences that enable people to maximize advantages and minimize threats and harms when using online content. In addition, it covers the competences that enable people of all ages to critically and effectively engage with: communications content, the institutions that facilitate content, as well as use of digital technologies. Further, media and information literacy empowers people to think critically about information and use of digital tools. It helps people to be informed and make choices regarding how they participate in equality, freedom of expression, peace building as well as sustainable development.