By Press Release
MILID Foundation has trained staff of the faculty of communication and media studies, University of Abuja, on media and information literacy and intercultural dialogue.
The workshop, which took place on Tuesday, March 25, was aimed at promoting media and information literacy (MIL) and intercultural dialogue within the academia.
Dr. Chido Onumah, a member of the Board of MILID Foundation, said the objective of the workshop was to advance the goal of the Foundation which is MIL for all.
In his welcome address, the dean of the faculty, Prof. Abdullahi Bashir, praised MILID Foundation for the bold step in reaching out to the faculty for the workshop noting that academic staff needed to take advantage of the benefits of MIL as much as other citizens considering the effect of misinformation and disinformation on campuses.
Participants at the workshop were drawn from the four departments in the faculty, information, journalism and media studies; development and strategic communication; broadcasting, film, and multi-media studies; and advertising and public relations.
Sessions at the workshop included an introduction to media and information literacy facilitated by Dr. Onumah which introduced participants to the benefits of MIL. He highlighted the importance of access to information, the difference between misinformation and disinformation; the role of the academic community in curbing misinformation; and using MIL to counter information disorder.
Another session by George Kaduna, a digital strategist, introduced participants to verification/fact checking and offered practical tools for verifying information and viral media messages.
Media and information literacy has become a critical life skill in the age of technology and advances in communication which has spurred misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, online radicalisation, among other challenges. It involves providing citizens with the competencies and skills to engage effectively and responsibly with media and information systems.
These competencies and skills, according to UNESCO, empower citizens to access, retrieve, understand, evaluate and use, to create as well as share information and media content in all formats, using various tools, in a critical, ethical and effective way, in order to participate and engage in personal, professional and societal activities.
The head of the department of development and strategic communication, Dr Aishat Abulrauf-Salau, who facilitated the workshop, said the aim was to build on the partnership with MILID Foundation. She noted that those who benefitted from the workshop would pass on the knowledge to other staff and students.
One of the highlights of the workshop was the request from participants for MILID Foundation to help develop a news magazine for the faculty which will also serve the university.
Dignitaries at the workshop included Prof. Chris Ogbondah of the department of information, journalism and media studies; Dr Barnabas Gbam, deputy dean faculty of communication and media studies; Dr Sarah Gambo, head of department, broadcasting, film, and multi-media studies; Dr Godwin Malasowe, faculty officer; Dr Abubakar Jibril, acting head, department of information, journalism and media studies; and Dr Kamaldin Abdulsalam Babatunde, head of department of advertising and public relations.
Dr Onumah donated books to the faculty on behalf of MILID Foundation.
