The Federal Government says it is inches closer to actualising the establishment of UNESCO International Media and Information Literacy Institute in the country.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this in Abuja on Friday at a programme to celebrate the National Global Media and Information Literacy Week 2024.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the 2024 National Global Media and Information Literacy Week is themed,
“New Digital Frontiers of Information: Media and Information Literacy for Public Interest Information”.
The minister recalled that the commitment to establish the institute in Nigeria was made by the previous administration, when Nigeria hosted the 11th edition of the Global Media and Information Literacy Week Feature Conference in 2022.
He said President Bola Tinubu undertook to fulfill the commitment in recognition of the role of the media and information literacy as an enabler of inclusive public information dissemination.
“I am glad to announce that the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, working with the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Open University of Nigeria, is inches closer to actualising this goal.
“In the coming weeks, we are expecting a team of independent experts from UNESCO in Nigeria to assess the level of our preparedness and compliance to the institute becoming a UNESCO category 2 Institute.
“It is our conviction that given the level of commitment and interest shown by President Tinubu and the entire team working on the project, we will succeed,” he said.
Idris said when it kicks off, institute will offer programmes and courses that equip Nigerians, Africans, and people worldwide with requisite skills to understand the changing landscape of digital communication and how to navigate it safely.
In his remarks, UNESCO Representative to Nigeria, Mr. Abdourahamane Diallo, reiterated the commitment of the Organisation to support Media Information Literacy (MIL) in Nigeria
“UNESCO understands the importance of mainstreaming MIL into the educational system which it has done over the years.
“This includes mainstreaming the MIL curriculum into the curriculum of Colleges of Education, building the capacities of Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council curriculum experts in preparation for the recent National Curriculum Review
“We also work with teachers at states level towards ensuring they are equipped to mainstream MIL into their lesson notes and teach this in the classroom,” he said.
On his part, .the Vice Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria, Prof. Olufemi Peters, thanked the Minister for his support for the institution.
Peters specifically thanked the minister for consolidating the activities of the International Media and Literacy Institute, which is domiciled in the university. (NAN)
