The International Council for Media Literacy is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing media literacy as essential for our global society.
Our Mission
To offer programs, policy recommendations, publications and dissemination of research and practice across fields to stimulate critical conversations and deepen media education
To contribute to a robust, integrated, worldwide media literacy movement
To promote education reform in critical, creative, and ecological ways
To encourage an informed, reflective, and compassionate citizenry.
Our Vision
To become a critical bridge between industry leaders, artists, journalists, policy-makers, academics, educators and activists
To support media education practices in schools, homes, and our local and global communities
Our Core Values
IC4ML believes in:
- Building a shared understanding among media industry professionals, policy-makers, researchers, educators, and the public about ways people, communities, and nations interact with media.
- Being future oriented and forward thinking, keeping abreast of changes in media industries, media literacy research, and media education practices, without losing sight of media history and the complexity of interactions with mediated information.
- Committing to social and environmental justice by standing against all forms of discrimination and bigotry.
What is Media Literacy?
Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create and participate thoughtfully and actively with media and within media cultures in a more equitable, humane, ecologically resilient, and just world.
Our definition of media literacy is based on the following key concepts:
Media comprise global infrastructures with material impacts (environmental and human) while also producing sensory experience and constructions of reality with unique forms and conventions.
Media express ideologies and values, but are also the source of pleasure and emotional substance.
Media can be interpreted as being embedded with economic, social, and political significance that contribute to the shaping of our societies and cultures.
Individuals and groups negotiate the meaning of media based on multiple factors.