Du 25 au 27 Mars 2015, Gorée Institute a organisé dans le cadre de son programme "Prévention des Conflits et Consolidation de la Paix en Afrique de l'Ouest", un atelier sur le thème "Leadership des jeunes dans la prévention des conflits en Afrique de l'Ouest" au profit d'une vingtaine de jeunes responsables d'organisations de jeunesse (dont EducommunicAfrik) provenant de sept  (07) pays de l'espace CEDEAO.   

UNESCO is seeking volunteers to be an online tutor

UNESCO is looking for 15-20 volunteer tutors who wish to gain or enhance their experience and knowledge on a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in media and information literacy (MIL).

 

UNESCO offers free online course for youth (aged 15-25) on MIL, in partnership with Athabasca University and the UNESCO-UNAOC University Network on Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue.

 

This entry-level MOOC will provide youth with basic media and information competencies to become critical citizens and agents of change. The course is designed to enable youth to:

•                    Understand why media and other information providers are important to development and democratic societies;

•                    Recognise a need for information and to locate, access, organise and critically evaluate information and the content of media and other information providers;

•                    Use and share information and technology based on ethical principles or accepted standards of social behaviour – in light of opportunities and potential risks;

•                    Interact with media and other information providers to freely express themselves, share their culture and learn about other cultures, promote gender equality, and participate in democratic and development activities.

 

Tutors would be requested to log into the system and give feedback to students journals, questions and assignments. Tutors and students will directly communicate.

 

The course will run for two months, and it would require about 2 hours per week.

 

If there are professors, associate professors or tutors in universities, independent consultants, experts, qualified MIL practitioners, and PhD students, pursuing a related field of study that would like to volunteer to please send your name, organizations affiliation, contact information and CV to l.mustapha@unesco.org.

 

UNESCO is taking steps to offer the course in multiple languages and to link on these on one Learning Management System Platform. This will provide opportunities for future cooperation. 

 

Should you have any questions about the online MIL course, please send an email to l.mustapha@unesco.org.

EducommunicAfrik participated to the Tana Forum Regional Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues

March 04, 2015

EducommunicAfrik was invited by the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) of the University of Addis Abeba to join othen African CSOs in Accra, Ghana to discuss peace and security in Africa, not only discuss solutions, but also to make African-centered solutions happen.

The expectations were high. The Tana Forum Regional Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues are founded on the understanding that peace is built and sustained when all actors from local to continental, grassroots to policy-level, participate in it. The Regional Dialogues as Director of IPSS Kidane Kiros put it “create an enabling avenue for multiple stakeholders to make open, critical, and substantive contributions to the debate on peace and security in Africa reflecting regional peculiarities and conditions”.

Collaborating with the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), the Tana Forum brought together grassroots civil society organisations in West Africa on the 24th and 25th of February) to hone in on the 2015 theme “Secularism and Politicised Faith”. The contribution of civil society on such a deeply-personal and contentious subject was to inform "the intersection between knowledge and dogma", according to Brian Kagoro, an independent consultant from Zimbabwe.

Speaking before forty-five participants drawn from seven West African states, Kiros highlighted the critical need for this year’s discussion.

"The violent reactions in Niger to perceived actions of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the kidnapping of young girls by the militant group Boko Haram, and the postponement of elections in Nigeria due to security fears have brought issues of secularism and politicized faith to the public spotlight," he said.

On the first day, participants highlighted the role governments played in fanning the politicisation of faith whether through state funding of certain groups over others to the use of religious symbolism for electoral success. At the same time, good and effective governance was highlighted as key to mitigating religious conflict.

"Freedom of religion and freedom of worship are liberties that must be protected by the state," said Isaac Albert, Professor of International Relations at the University of Ibadan (Nigeria). "However, the practice of religion must remain a personal matter." 

On day two of the dialogue, participants were challenged to turn rhetoric into workable recommendations. Divided into discussion groups using the “world café” discussion format, they developed recommendations in the following areas: promoting peaceful co-existence among religions; religions, civil liberties and citizen’s security; the role of the media; and financing of faith-based organisations.

The Tana Forum/WANEP Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue gathered civil civil society experiences and expertise to feed help inform discussions at Tana 2015 in April. Representatives of West African civil society who attended the dialogue made the following recommendations:

1. There is the need to incorporate civic education into the curriculum at all levels of education; primary, secondary and tertiary, with the goal of inculcating and building civic consciousness and promoting unity between and among citizens; including but not limited to formal education.
2. Government should create mechanisms for peaceful co-existence among religions that recognises diversity and assert individual rights to practice preferred religions without fear. They should also strengthen national laws and regulations to provide effective oversight on the activities of faith-based institutions.
3. Government should not put itself in a position of being seen, or accused, of partiality towards any particular religion.
4. There is the need for government, the civil society, and the general public to be vigilant in ensuring that those with tendency to politicise religion are prevented from doing so.
5. Because they are closest to and embedded within the different communities where they operate, civil society organisations should play a more proactive role in terms of providing early warning reports on individuals with extremist or radical tendencies; including those capable of exploiting faith for political ends.
6. The need to strengthen the family to carry out its role as the first line of civic education for children is overdue.
7. There is an urgent need to fill the critical developmental gaps that allow radical movements to thrive by creating accelerated employment opportunities within the formal and informal sectors for young people.
8. Faith-based organisations should put themselves in a position to play a more active role in promoting peaceful co-existence, while ensuring that appropriate checks and balances are in place.
9. On regular basis, there is the need to build the capacity of religious leaders by exposing them to inter-faith training activities tolerant of other religions.
10. There is need for strong political commitment to actively involve women; real efforts have to be made to mainstream them in decision-making on critical social issues, as well as in conflict prevention.
11. The media has a responsibility to be impartial and neutral in the presentation of information and news to the general public; it is the abiding responsibility of the media to ensure that news is in the overall interest of society.
12. There is a strong felt need to identify capacity gaps within the media and to fill such gaps through exposure and training programmes that continuously place premium on media ethics and professionalism.

Leadership is key so too is a conscious, active citizenry- West African CSOs on politicised faith - Institute for Peace and Security Studies

Register now! UNESCO’s free online Media and Information Literacy course for youth

UNESCO, in partnership with Athabasca University and in cooperation with the UNESCO-UNAOC University Network on Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue, opens a third call for registration for online course on media and information literacy (MIL).

 

This entry-level online course will provide youth with basic media and information competencies to become critical citizens and agents of change. The course is designed to enable youth to:

• Understand why media and other information providers are important to development and democratic societies;
• Recognise a need for information and to locate, access, organise and carefully evaluate information and the content of media and other information providers;
• Use and share information based on moral principles or accepted standards of social behaviour – in light of opportunities and potential risks;
• Interact with media and other information providers to freely express themselves, share their culture and learn about other cultures, promote gender equality, and participate in democratic and development activities.

The course is based on the MIL Curriculum and the Freedom of Expression (FOE) Toolkit published by UNESCO. 

A central theme throughout  this 10-week course is how media and information literacy can enable youth to be actively involved in intercultural dialogue, advocating for equality between women/girls and men/boys, and freedom of expression.  

The course is offered through Athabasca University’s online e-Lab, using the learning management system, Moodle.  Most sessions will be self-directed, with ongoing interaction with the course presenters in the online space. 

Athabasca is a Canadian university that holds a UNESCO Chair on open education resources. Athabasca University is an associate member of the UNESCO-UNAOC University Network on Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue.

Applicants should be youth (females and males between the ages 15-25). Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate from Athabasca University. 

In order to successfully complete this course participants will need regular access to a computer and Internet access to download documents, listen to podcasts and view online videos. 

To apply, please click here. Application must be completed by 20 April 2015. There are no associated fees to participants who wish to do this course. 

This MIL course includes a research component being carried out by UNESCO.

Online Media and Information Literacy Course Units:

 

Unit 1 – Media and Information Literacy (MIL): An Introduction

Unit 2 – Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue

Unit 3 – Media and Information Literacy: Evaluating and Using Information and Media Content

Unit 4 – Media and Information Literacy: Using Research and Analysis to Produce Your Own Information and Media Content

Unit 5 – Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Information, Freedom of the Press

Unit 6 - Representations of Gender in the Media, Books, on the Internet and in History

Unit 7 – Media and Information Ethics in Relation to the Needs of Big Business, Politics and Development

Unit 8 – Understanding and Evaluating the World of Advertising

Unit 9 – The Challenges and Opportunities of Media, Libraries and New Technologies for Youth

Unit 10 – Engaging with Media and Using New Technology and Information for Social Action

You can read the article also here:

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/resources/news-and-in-focus-articles/all-news/news/register_now_unescos_online_media_and_information_literacy_course_for_youth-1/