Background Documents and Position Papers on Media and Information Literacy Policies and Strategies in SEE and Turkey

This package features documents that depict the current policy infrastructure relating to media and information literacy in formal, non-formal and informal education in Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo (under UN Security Council Resolution 1244) and Turkey.

They include specific objectives and recommendations for introducing MIL in public policy. The featured documents were developed by local stakeholders including governmental institutions/duty-bearers within the UNESCO-EU project ‘Building Trust in Media in South East Europe and Turkey’.


“Building Trust in Media in South East Europe and Turkey”
EU-UNESCO project

The Project “Building Trust in Media in South East Europe and Turkey” seeks to strengthen freedom of expression, access to information, free, independent and pluralistic media, ensuring that journalists and media are key drivers for democratic, sustainable and peaceful development in the region.

In order to achieve that overall objective, the project, for which implementation started in early 2016 is aiming at restoring public confidence in the media working with media stakeholders at three levels. First, the project implements activities at the level of the media companies in order to promote increased media internal governance with better respect of media decision-makers for labor rights and professional standards. Second, the project implements activities at the level of the media profession to support media accountability mechanisms such as media ethical standards and press councils. Finally, the project works at the level of the civil society with media and information literacy activities to strengthen support for the media and demand for quality media.

Building trust in media through media and information literacy

In the component of the project concerning building trust in media through media and information literacy, UNESCO and EC supported local stakeholders in Albania, Serbia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo (under UN Security Council Resolution 1244) to draft Background Documents whose foremost purpose was to sketch out the current policy infrastructure when it comes to formal, informal and non-formal education on media and information literacy and pave the way for an intervention through which a comprehensive strategic framework for MIL can be introduced. The Background Documents on MIL Policy and Strategy featured in this package use the UNESCO’s composite concept of Media and Information Literacy, as well as MIL Policy and Strategy Guidelines (Grizzle and Torras Calvo, 2013).

These documents served as an initial basis for discussion in consultations on media and information policies and strategies, whose organization was supported by EC and UNESCO in each target country and Kosovo (under UN Security Council Resolution 1244). Government institutions were actively involved in the consultation processes and co-organized related actions. Stimulating a multi-stakeholder approach towards MIL policies and strategies, these consultation processes provided a meeting point also for non-governmental stakeholders such as media organizations, media and information professionals/organizations such as journalists, media owners, regulatory and self-regulatory bodies, public broadcasters, libraries, museums and other information intermediaries, educators, teachers, and civil society sector.

The recommendations derived from consultation processes were integrated in the Background Documents, which were further developed into Position Papers on MIL, also featured in this package. Position Papers provided with specific objectives and recommendations for introducing MIL in public policy in formal, non-formal and informal education. Following consultation processes, Position Papers in each target country were widely circulated among stakeholders and will serve as basis for initiating formal debate in parliament of related government entities on MIL policies and strategies. UNESCO’s and EC’s activities in this regard aim to strengthen support for the media and demand for quality media through advancing media and information literate societies.

The partners for the implementation of these activities were:

Media and Education Center (Serbia)
South East European Network for Professionalization of Media – SEENPM
University of Sarajevo (BiH)
Institute for Development Policy (Kosovo under UNSRC 1244)
Platform for Independent Journalism – P24 (Turkey)
Albanian Media Institute (Albania)

The government entities that were involved and participated in the implementation of these activities were:

  • In Serbia

Ministry of Culture and Information
Ministry of Youth and Sport
Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications

  • In Albania

Ministry of Education and Sport
Parliamentary Commission on Education
Ministry of Innovation and Public Administration
Institute of Development of Education
Regional Directorate of Education

  • In Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ministry of Civil Affairs (Department of Science and Culture)
Parliament Joint Commission for Human Rights
Ministry of Communication and Transport
Communications Regulatory Agency of B&H
Ministries of Education in entities canton and District Brcko.

  • In Kosovo (under UN Security Resolution 1244)

The Office of Good Governance within the Office of Prime Minister
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports

  • In Turkey

The Ministry of Culture