Embracing Media Information Literacy in Community Development Initiatives in Sub Saharan Africa

Abstract

The Media and information literacy (MIL) concept has been used widely by librarians and information and knowledge practitioners to refer to the three often clearly distinguished literacies, media literacy, information literacy, and digital literacy. MIL empowers people to develop themselves and their societies through enhanced capacities in communication and information in the digital age. The complexity of the digital and information society demands that citizens and learners possess information and digital literacies and competencies for lifelong learning, civic engagement, democratic participation, sustainable societies, building and nurturing trust in media. While MIL seeks to build and nurture critical thinking and understanding skills amongst the populace as they navigate the information society, its application in development initiatives leaves nothing to be desired in most countries in the global south. This article explores how MIL can be embraced as a key enabler of community development and social justice initiatives and follows up to the ongoing debate of the centrality of media, technological change, innovation and education towards advancing social justice. The study adopts a multisectoral approach by bringing together different information and communication practitioners, educators and communities towards advancing social justice in Sub Saharan Africa. The study was guided by UNESCO’s five laws of Media and Information Literacy and used the qualitative research approach through document analysis and key informant interviews with MIL leaders in selected countries in Sub Saharan Africa. Findings of the study contribute to strategies that can be used to integrate media and information literacy skills in community development initiatives.

Keywords

Media and Information Literacy, Technology, Social justice, Sub Saharan Africa, Community Development

Introduction

MIL in the Digital and Information Society

The centrality of media, technological change, innovation and education as drivers of social justice and community development in digital information societies spotlights Media and Information Literacy (MIL) as a critical component for sustainable development. The MIL concept is premised on universal human rights and has been used widely by librarians, information and knowledge practitioners to refer to the three often clearly distinguished literacies, media literacy, information literacy, and digital literacy. MIL plays a critical role in community development as it advances the four pillars of social justice; Access, Equity, Participation, and Human Rights. Using a human rights-based approach, it fosters equitable access to information and media, builds capacity for active civic participation and engagement in an ethical way. The United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organisation  (UNESCO, 2023) defines MIL as a ‘composite set of knowledge, skills, attitudes, competencies and practices to effectively access, analyse, critically evaluate, interpret, use, create and disseminate information and media products with the use of existing means and tools on a creative, legal and ethical basis. It is an integral part of the so-called “21^st century skills” or “transversal competencies”. Through enhanced capacities in communication, information and media engagement in the digital age, MIL empowers people to actively participate and reap the benefits of a global society that is connected and sustained by access to information and digital technologies, free flow of information, freedom of expression through various forms of media, information ethics, and security. They are better placed to understand the functions of media, critically recognize and identify their information needs, locate, evaluate and assess the information and media, and make informed decisions as consumers and creators of media content.

Study Aim and Objectives.

The study seeks to assess how MIL can be integrated into community development initiatives. The premise of this article is that media and information literacy initiatives are empowering communities and are a critical enabler of community development in the information age. If communities have the requisite skills to find, evaluate, apply and share information, they are empowered to make informed decisions, counter misinformation, actively participate in civic discussions and contribute meaningfully in community development. The study was guided by UNESCO’s Five Laws of Media and Information Literacy.

Methodology

The study adopted a qualitative research approach through document analysis and key informant interviews with MIL leaders in selected countries in Sub Saharan Africa. Thematic analysis of data was conducted to bring insights from literature and key informants.

Conceptual Framework

The study was guided by UNESCO’s five laws of MIL. The Five Laws of MIL provide guidelines on the application of MIL in all forms of development (UNESCO, 2017). The five laws of MIL presented in Table 1are deeply rooted in Ranganathan’s five laws of librarianship, coined in the year 1931. The MIL laws seek to harmonise and bring together, the previously distinguished three literacies (media literacy, information literacy, and digital literacy) as a combined set of competencies, where different players in the information, media and communication field (educators, librarians, archivists, journalists, media practitioners) are guardians of MIL, collaborators and not competitors.

Table 1: Five Laws of MIL (UNESCO, 2017)

The State of MIL in Sub Saharan Africa

Sub Saharan Africa countries subscribe to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and have the ‘right to freedom of expression’, media and internet freedom, the right to access to information and education (literacy) guaranteed in their constitutions. UNESCO has supported these member states by enhancing the MIL capacities of policymakers, educators, information and media professionals, youth organisations, and disadvantaged populations on MIL. Some member states have formulated national media policies and information policies and strategies that regulate online and offline media engagements and interactions, content creation, cyber-behaviours and flow of data and information. Despite this progress that creates an enabling environment for MIL uptake by individuals, education institutions and agencies working to advance social justice and community development, the adoption of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) concept in community development and social justice initiatives in Sub Saharan Africa is still in its infancy.

MIL integration in formal education

While UNESCO has MIL resources for educators and libraries, MIL integration into formal education systems through media education or instruction is minimal. Cunliffe-Jones et al. (2021) reported that media education was barely taught in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda, South Africa in early schools. The same also applies to southern African states like Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Lesotho, Malawi and Mozambique. Components of digital literacy like online threats and security were noted to have been taught as part of the Information and Communication Technology curricula, as schools acknowledge that  these are critical skills required for learners to safely navigate the digital technology and information landscape. Academic libraries have however been instrumental in steering critical information literacy programs for students in tertiary institutions. University libraries in selected sub-Saharan African Universities have successfully designed information literacy skills as an independent module or have it embedded within the Communication skills module making it mandatory and examinable at the end of the program year for all undergraduates. Tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe, reported that faculty librarians were responsible for designing the information literacy skills curricula, and conducted the in-class lectures and end of year student assessments. Libraries and information practitioners in Sub Saharan Africa have taken it upon themselves to instil critical information literacy skills amongst the populace through various library programs. Critical information literacy differs from standard definitions of information literacy (the ability to find, use, and analyse information) in that it takes into consideration the social, political, economic, and corporate systems that have power and influence over information production, dissemination, access, and consumption (Gregory and Higgins, 2013).

MIL advocacy and capacity building

There is a significant improvement in the number of civil society and media organisations entering the MIL landscape. These organisations provide MIL capacity building to women, journalists, content creators, media practitioners and also advocate for the adoption of media and information literacies at policy level. Inform Action, a social justice organisation in Kenya offers media and digital literacy training to strengthen the public’s capacity to fact-check and engage with information critically, through strategic media partnerships and social media. The Dubawa^[1] Project in Sierra Leone, Liberia and  Gambia, uses media literacy articles, fact-checks, explainers, fact sheets and online/offline engagement,  to encourage a more engaged and information-literate citizenry who are capable of making informed decisions about issues that affect their development (Dubawa, 2023). The African Library and Information Institutions and Associations has designed training programmes on media and information literacy to equip African librarians with requisite skills and knowledge on combating misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic era (African Library and Information Institutions and Associations, 2020). In Malawi, Robert Chiwamba, an award-winning spoken word poet, uses social media to raise awareness on strategies of countering disinformation such as educating the public on fact-checking. Chiwamba is also building a solidarity network of MIL enthusiasts to advocate for MIL policies in their organisations. Most civic society organisations also have inhouse libraries and information centres or knowledge management departments that are instrumental in advocating and embedding MIL literacies in organisational operations like evidence-based advocacy, public relations, social media marketing, and citizen engagement.

Such organisations will do well collaborating with public libraries on MIL projects as they both seek to implement similar educational programs, expand access to information and communication technologies, and support individuals to pursue new economic opportunities. Sadly, this is not the case as libraries are often overlooked as development partners (Fellows, Coward, and Sears 2012; Young et al., 2021). To bring up a level playing field for all stakeholders the UNESCO’s MIL Law 1 asserts that media, digital technology, information centres, libraries and information in any form are equal, and are for use in facilitating civic engagement and driving sustainable development and social justice. This law brings to light that all players in the MIL landscape are important and equal towards successful MIL adoption and application for civic engagement, sustainable community development and for social justice. It calls for a collective approach in the application and adoption of MIL competencies in the information ecosystem, with all players working in partnership to foster responsible online and offline media interactions and engagements, creating awareness of netiquette, fact checking, and fostering critical thinking skills that enable one to be mindful about what they post in public platforms, “to care before you share”, and to “think before you post”. This makes MIL a crucial factor for social integration and participation (Carlsson, 2019).

MIL and information ethics

Information has the power to catalyse development projects, or decimate progress if it is inappropriately used.  Through the use of social media, social interaction, and digital technologies,  content creation has been liberalised enabling citizens from Sub Saharan Africa to create and publish content openly, to amplify their voices, about their concerns and also share their experiences. It has enhanced the free flow of information in communities and has made community members content creators and influencers by default. The liberalisation of content creation acknowledges the power of one’s voice, and opinion for active citizen participation and engagement. As such the MIL Law 2 recognizes the need for MIL skills to be made available to all to empower citizens to express themselves freely and safely by instilling responsible content creation and content moderation competencies that enable content creators to critically evaluate their content before sharing it. While creating content is an act of exercising one’s freedom of expression, – a tenet of democracy, that same content can potentially breach someone’s  privacy and confidentiality. MIL ensures that content creation and sharing is within the stipulated privacy and copyright laws in order to counter incidences of copyright infringement and privacy violations. This ensures that citizens and social justice advocates communicate effectively and ethically, by navigating ethical dilemmas and striking a balance in the information ecosystem.

Nurturing Trust in Media Landscape through MIL

The ease of creating content in different formats also creates an avalanche of new content, some of which is unverified or biassed content, misinformation, or disinformation contributing towards an infodemic. This makes it difficult for some people to navigate the news media landscape, and has resultantly led to consumers actively avoiding the news altogether (Statista, 2022).  A study by DW Akademie (2020) revealed that Africa’s youth are challenged by this new media and information environment as many continue to experience disinformation, cyberbullying or hate speech on a daily basis. In Uganda, for instance, sexual harassment online has reached alarming proportions, and youths in Burkina Faso, expressed that they do not feel represented in the media, so they tend to hold their voice back and withdraw into the private sphere. (DW Akademie, 2020). MIL competences aim to restore media users’ confidence in the media, by giving them an ability to identify and manage online threats, to verify truths from toxic content, identify bias, and authentic information sources to use in the overwhelming news media landscape. They are well empowered critical thinkers who can critically evaluate information or media messages before consumption and make informed choices about their news diet. This way they are comfortable to engage and interact with the media in various forms and are alive to the truth that information/media messages are not always value neutral, but are prone to bias (MIL Law 3).

The Dubawa project has also done considerable work equipping newsrooms with the skills and environment to make fact-checking and truth a norm in media houses through training and fellowships, so that eroding trust in media will be restored (Dubawa, 2023). The project  upskills journalists and news producers with MIL skills to ensure that journalists and newsrooms relay accurate and reliable messages so that media users continue to enjoy access to credible information (MIL Law 4)  that satisfy their growing information needs.

MIL and Gender Equality

MIL stands for equality, equity, and human rights. The ‘MIL for All’ notion aims to close the gender digital divide, by ensuring that everyone has adequate skills and know how to navigate the media space and enjoy the benefits of media and digital technology despite their gender. MIL has been used to advance gender equity and equality in Sub Saharan Africa. The Zimbabwe Information and Technology Empowerment Trust,  a non-profit organisation in Zimbabwe, uses MIL training to empower young women and girls from rural and under-resourced communities that are disproportionately lagging in  acquiring digital opportunities due to patriarchy, poor infrastructure and financial challenges. MIL is reported to improve their capacity in accessing educational opportunities, and in making use of media and digital technologies to voice their concerns on issues that affect their participation in development issues like gender-based violence, negative social norms, patriarchy, digital inequalities, gender discrimination, sexual and reproductive health, and maternal and menstrual health. MIL  has also been instrumental in enhancing the five components of women empowerment as highlighted by the European Institute for Gender Equality, (2016), a women’s sense of self-worth (MIL builds self-confidence for active participation engagements), their right to determine choices (MIL enhances critical thinking skills), their right to access opportunities and resources through critical information literacy skills, their right to have power to control their own lives through enhanced freedom of expression both within and outside the home; and their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just social and economic order, nationally and internationally.

MIL for Community Development in Sub Saharan Africa

MIL, like Media and Information Technologies, is dynamic and continues to evolve with emerging technologies. As new technologies emerge, new sets of media and information skills are required for users to effectively navigate the new media and information landscape. MIL law 5 recognizes that MIL skills are not acquired at once and are not static. Like technology, they evolve, hence for MIL to be effectively embedded in community development and social justice initiatives in Sub Saharan Africa, there is a need for continuous learning. UNESCO’s MIL law 5 also recognizes MIL skills are a lived and dynamic experience and a process, hence institutions and individuals should be alive to the fact that the media and information landscape is boundless, complex, and ever changing; there are factors that might affect the MIL learning process, and possibly disrupt the adoption of the MIL skills and competences for community development.

This notion is also supported by the E. M. Rogers Diffusion of Innovation Theory that explains how, over time, an idea or product gains momentum and diffuses (or spreads) through a specific population or social system. The result of this diffusion is that people, as part of a social system, adopt a new idea or behaviour which eventually results in behaviour changes. The key to adoption is that the person must perceive the idea or behaviour as new or innovative. It is through this that diffusion is possible (Boston University School of Public Health, 2022). Based on this theory, the adoption of MIL skills goes through several stages before it is fully adopted in community development in Sub Saharan Africa. The limitation of Rogers theory however is that it views adoption of new ideas/skills as linear, and non-participatory, which is not the case in real life. Media users are active users and are social beings, and this heavily impacts the way they adopt new ideas and skills. This makes the adoption of MIL in community development a continuous process that is dependent on media users’ prior knowledge and previous experiences interacting with the media, digital technology or media messages.

Embedding MIL in community development and social justice initiatives in Sub Saharan Africa thus requires communities and institutions to employ other strategies besides capacity building. While capacity building or training goes a long way in introducing new skills to grassroot communities and organisations, and for persuading the media users who are sceptical about adopting the skills, there are still a lot of external factors that affect the adoption process. It is thus recommended that there be increased efforts towards raising MIL awareness to achieve a greater buy-in from  community-based organisations, and the public and private players bringing more stakeholders on board. This will create opportunities for public private partnerships and more collaborative efforts towards the adoption of MIL.

Another strategy is the use of evidence-based MIL advocacy campaign strategies that spotlight  MIL success stories within the region as a way of persuading and influencing other organisations and individuals to embed MIL in their practices and operations. Organisations can also make use of  social media influencers to encourage MIL uptake by youths as they interact with the media. Efforts should also be made towards MIL legislation, by enacting national MIL policies and strategies that provide an enabling environment for MIL adoption by individuals and organisations. National MIL policies should be structured to ensure that MIL is embedded in formal learning and organisational processes.

[1] Dubawa is a West African independent verification and fact-checking project, initiated by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development

References

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