Media and Information Literacy Repository – South Asia

This study examines the concept of media literacy in the context of rapid technological developments and the expansion of digital media. It discusses how new media platforms, including social networks and digital communication tools, have transformed the way people access, interpret, and produce information. The research emphasizes that media literacy is essential for enabling individuals to critically analyze media content, recognize misinformation, and participate effectively in digital society. It also explores the educational, social, and cultural challenges associated with promoting media literacy, highlighting the need for structured educational programs and policy support. The study concludes that strengthening media literacy is vital for empowering citizens and ensuring responsible media consumption in the digital age.

Media and information literacy (MIL) projects are crucial for a country’s development because they provide citizens with access to important information, resources, and knowledge about their rights and responsibilities. For the past decade, international organizations such as UNESCO, Internews, and DW-Akademie have funded training programs and projects to improve MIL in Central Asia. This study examines the sustainability indicators of foreign aid initiatives supporting MIL in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. It analyzes historical trends, policy frameworks, and stakeholder perspectives, including interviews with trainers and experts. The research highlights the importance of public-private partnerships, technological integration, and cultural context in ensuring long-term sustainability and effectiveness of foreign aid programs in media literacy. The findings offer insights and recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to improve the sustainability and impact of foreign assistance in the MIL sector.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of librarians on access to Information for Sustainable Development in Enugu State, Nigeria in the Digital Age. Access to information is said to play a major role in the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).In Nigeria, access to information is increasing and yet does not seem to be making real impact towards the realization of the SDGs. Four research questions were formulated to guide the study and descriptive survey design was adopted. The area of study was Enugu State. The population of the study comprised all 93 librarians from the University of Nigeria Nsukka and Enugu State University of Science and Technology. The instrument for data collection included a combination of oral interview and a structured questionnaire made up of four clusters and 76 items on a 4-point scale of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD). All 93 librarians were sampled using the questionnaire and oral interviews were conducted with librarians at the management level. Of the 93 questionnaires distributed, 72 useful copies were received and analyzed. The findings revealed that librarians access information on Sustainable Development Goals highly because of available resources and infrastructure. Responses to the oral interviews showed that information facilities are not available in many urban and rural communities where most citizens reside. A number of challenges were identified, including poor information structure, poor electricity supply and Internet connectivity, inadequate publicity of government programs on SDGs and non-involvement of people in key decision making. Government should improve the information architecture to widen access to information on SDGs through partnering with the libraries, increase publicity of accurate and relevant information, and involve citizens in the decision-making process.

For a nation to be developed, it requires information. Today, information is the most important singular variable which differentiates and determines whether a country is the first, second, third or fourth world. Information has a key role to play in the attainment of sustainable development goals. The roles of libraries in attaining the sustainable development goals are indispensable. Information as a commodity, if properly utilized for decision making, policy formulation, research and educational purposes can result in sustainable development. This paper looks at information literacy, skills required of individuals, importance of information literacy, roles of libraries as agents of information literacy for the attainment of sustainable development, challenges and imperatives for sustainable development.

The study examined media literacy skills forpromoting sustainable development in Rivers State. Threeresearch questions guided the study. The study anchored oninformation literacy theory. The survey research design wasadopted using a sample of 167 respondents drawn from apopulation of 278 lecturers in the four departments ofCommunication, film and media studies using proportionatesampling technique. The instrument for data collection was aquestionnaire which was validated by experts and used for datagathering. The reliability of the instrument was established at 0.82using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient(PPMC). The study found amongst others that critical andanalytical thinking, digital literacy, environmental literacy,cultural and social awareness, and collaborative communicationare media literacy skills needed for promoting sustainabledevelopment. The study concluded that media literacy andeducation can potentially empower the citizens to be able tocritically analyze and evaluate media messages, be betterinformed, engage, and be proactive in addressing both local andglobal issues that can bring about sustainable development inRivers State. Media literacy skills were essential for the citizens tobe well informed on the various types of media outlets and theirroles in promoting sustainable development in Rivers State-Nigeria. The study recommended amongst others thatPolicymakers and curriculum planners begin to think along thelines of integrating media literacy into the school curriculum. Thiswill help students develop a holistic understanding of media andits impact on society

Education for sustainable development (ESD) has been identified by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a core requirement for achieving success in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Research around data, information and people for achieving success in different SDGs shows how important ESD is. Research also shows that the library and information sector can contribute in many ways to achieve the UN SDGs. Therefore, it is crucial that a strategic approach is taken to embed the concepts of SDGs and their targets and indicators, and the corresponding data and information required to achieve those, within the information science curricula, so that the SDGs form the foundation of information science education, research and professional activities. This article aims to develop a research agenda for education and research in information sciences for promoting and achieving success in different SDGs. First, taking the approach of a metareview, this article shows the trends, as well as challenges, of research and development activities around information for sustainable development. This article demonstrates how the different activities of the LIS (Library and Information Science) sector can be mapped onto some specific targets and indicators of different SDGs, and based on this, it develops an agenda for education and research in information for sustainable development. The research agenda will lead to the development of new information sciences curricula to accommodate the SDGs for training and research in specific LIS activities. This article discusses how the research agenda will also lead to the development of trained professionals in information science for promoting the concepts, and achieving the targets, of the SDGs for a sustainable future.