Abuja, Nigeria

Youth Media & Communication Initiative (YMCI), an international organisation (based in Nigeria and Canada) dedicated to children and media, in conjunction with British Council and the National Film & Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has announced the first Africa Media Literacy Conference. The conference aims to focus on the importance of media education and its impact on children and youth and seeks to explore the roles of young people, their needs, and realities in light of today’s rapidly changing communication technologies.

The goal of this conference is to help create the conditions that would promote sustainable media education in Africa. According to the organisers, the role information plays in today’s world cannot be over-emphasised. Children and youth, deprived of access to means of self-expression, are being kept from developing the confidence and knowledge they need to compete in a rapidly changing information world.

The conference will feature local and international media leaders as speakers and resource persons, providing up-to-date approaches and perspectives on the growing field of media literacy.

The conference hopes to:

• bring together stakeholders working on education, children and media, literacy, and communications for development;
• develop policy frameworks on media education to inform children and youth about the role media play in national development;
• develop policy documents that will facilitate the integration of media literacy into school curricula across Africa;
• encourage the mass media to disseminate information and materials of social and cultural benefit to children and youth as well as develop appropriate guidelines for the protection of the child from information and materials injurious to their wellbeing;
• give voice to children and youths, their perspectives and their rights through the development of continental youth media programmes; and
• promote democratic engagement for young people by providing them with the tools and confidence that will enable them to be active citizens in a progressive and open society.

According to the organisers, participants will:

• learn practical ways to incorporate media literacy concepts, methods, and materials into school, health, and community programmes;
• explore publications and other media literacy-related materials with key stakeholders;
• learn about media and its impact on the lifestyles of children and youth;
• understand the relationship between media and children’s health issues such as alcoholism, obesity, and drug abuse; and
• view creative media projects by today’s technologically-savvy youth

Click here for more information.

Participation is free. For more information on how to participate, send an email to ymci@hotmail.com