Media Literacy is one of the key tasks of The Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia (CMEM). CMEM uses appearances, events and decisions as a means to help citizens distinguish between the true and the fake news.
Media literacy in conditions of distance learning was an aspect addressed by the KonEdu GLOBAL Association for Promotion of Education. The Association held workshops in two schools, to work on raising the awareness about the need for media literacy in the educational process.
As one of the aspects of media literacy, the RESIS Institute looks into the way in which the vulnerable groups are presented in the media, because they are often depicted through the prism of stereotypes that are sometimes imposed by the media themselves.
Responsibility in the online public space, is another aspect of media literacy, elaborated by the Youth Education Forum (MOF). At two online events, MOF spoke how to escape the conspiracy theories and how to recognize online lies related to Covid-19.
The Institute of Communication Studies (ICS) addressed the issue of the time young people spent online, and their activities during this time. Three training sessions were organized to teach high school students how to recognize disinformation, along with an online discussion that raised the question of why we needed a media ‘diet’.
Media literacy in education is a broad topic that raises important issues in various areas – from education and culture, to the institutions’ functioning and the level of citizens and professionals’ awareness. Within the frameworks of this topic, the Macedonian Institute for Media (MIM) organized a round table with the Minister of Education, Ms Mila Carovska, entitled: The Need and the Possibilities for Including Media Literacy in the Formal Education System in R N Macedonia” and a debate entitled “Teachers – As a Key Factor of Raising Awareness about Media Literacy”.
The EUROTHINK Center for European Strategies and the METAMORPHOSIS Foundation held two webinars under the CriThink Project to address the role of journalists in the fight against disinformation.
The Public Broadcasting Service – Macedonian Radio and Television (MRTV) stressed the importance of promoting media literacy in the programmes. As the Television remains still a very powerful medium, the core mission of the Public Broadcasting Service is to inform and educate at the same time.
The event titled Gender, Pays and Broadcasting was organized by the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services (AAAVMS). The regulatory body emphasized gender perspective as an important aspect of media literacy, since society’s gender stereotypes and prejudices are mirrored in the media content. Citizens should be aware of the impact, while the media needs to understand their role in developing critical awareness.