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15 May 2016
12 May 2016<br />
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Jordan Media Institute (JMI) and in partnership with UNESCO launched the Media and Information Literacy (MIL) project – a component of the EU funded and UNESCO implemented Support to Media Project in Jordan. Media literacy is defined as the ability of citizens to access, organize and analyze information and create texts, images and sounds through all available media platforms. The program aims to contribute to capacity building of national educational institutions in MIL and transferring skills to new generations, in addition to spreading awareness and knowledge among decision makers, opinion leaders and society. <br />
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JMI Dean Dr. Basim Tweissi said the project lies at the heart of JMI objectives to spread knowledge and support the media profession and provide skills to all sectors of society. He highlighted the importance of MIL – especially amid recent events and developments – in developing people’s skills in dealing with media and information and in guarding them against negative influences of the media including misleading news and political propaganda. JMI, he added, will be working mainly with the universities of Al Hussein Bin Talal and Aal al-Bayt. <br />
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Senior Project Officer, UNESCO Support to Media in Jordan Project, Biljana Tatomir said people who are media literate understand how crucial news and information are to creating pluralistic and accountable societies. She explained that media literacy means understanding the value of news and information, the power of media messages, and the role that the public can play in setting the public agenda. “Media literacy programs teach the skills of critical thinking and analysis, the difference between news and opinion.” Tatomir noted that the EU funded and UNESCO implemented Support to Media in Jordan Project has media and information literacy as one of the core project components and expressed UNESCO’s happiness to partner in the implementation of this project component with JMI. <br />
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JMI and UNESCO signed an agreement covering the first phase of the project under which JMI will develop a policy paper on MIL in Jordanian educational institutions and an analysis of the curricula of universities and produce a strategy on how best to integrate MIL in their curricula.<br />
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The project will, at a later stage, introduce media and information literacy concepts into educational institutions’ curricula. JMI and in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Jordanian universities and Jordan Education Initiative will train teachers on MIL skills and transfer the knowledge to students in grades 7-9 in a number of schools. The institute will cooperate with experts and researchers to develop MIL curriculum for teachers based on the one developed by UNESCO in 2011.<br />
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The MIL project is among key components of the EU-funded Support to Media Project that UNESCO began implementing in 2014. Other components include enabling legal frameworks, entry-level journalism education and community media. UNESCO published the Media Development Indicators report for Jordan in 2015 as part of the first phase of the project.<br />
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JMI is a non-profit academic and training institution founded by Her Royal Highness Princess Rym Ali in 2006 with the aim of supporting the media profession by setting new standards for journalism and new media education in Jordan and the Middle East and empowering a new generation of journalists. Through partnerships with leading local and international organizations such as UNESCO, JMI is also able to conduct studies and organize sessions and conferences that address issues of concern to the community in general and journalists in particular.