PROJECT

New PMA project aims to build the Caribbean’s next generation of media literate citizens

9th January 2024

The Public Media Alliance is pleased to announce its upcoming media and information literacy (MIL) project in the Caribbean, aimed at empowering schoolchildren, educators, and journalists.

Building upon our 2022 project, which included a comprehensive media literacy analysis and a workshop for journalists, this initiative is a direct response to one of the key recommendations, calling for widespread and systemic media and information literacy programmes integrated into school curriculums. The upcoming project is titled “Building the Caribbean’s Next Generation of Media Literate Citizens.”

The project is being implemented by the Public Media Alliance and our regional partners, the Media Institute of the Caribbean (MIC) and the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM). It is supported by the UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean and UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC).

The project aims to establish sustainable MIL initiatives in the Caribbean. Initially benefiting schoolchildren, it aims to extend its impact across society, emphasising the importance of MIL from an early age.

The project also strives to strengthen relationships and understanding between news and education sectors, integrating MIL into the broader education system. Furthermore, it specifically targets news media and seeks to promote news literacy among Caribbean professionals, fostering meticulous reporting, fact-checking, improved information access, and transparent media ownership.

The project will be split across several key activities:

• MIL digital library – a toolkit of media literacy resources for journalists and educators
• Digital library evaluation workshop – two workshops with regional stakeholders to assess the MIL digital library
• Capacity-building workshops – two-day online workshops for journalists and educators, complemented by the digital library of resources
• In-country events for schoolchildren – benefiting ages 9-15, including school assemblies, studio tours, and MIL pop-ups
• Regional consultation – a virtual roundtable for collaboration and initiatives, engaging regional stakeholders

At the heart of this project is the recognition that building the media and information literacy skills of citizens – particularly their news literacy and digital literacy skills – requires a multisectoral approach. Such an effort must be conducted collaboratively by journalism and educational stakeholders, who are capably equipped with media literacy skills themselves. Notably, improved media literacy is especially needed among youth populations, especially in the face of rising levels of mis- and disinformation and attacks against journalists.

PMA’s recent Caribbean research emphasised the need to build the “next generation of media literate citizens”, who are equipped with the competencies, knowledge, and skills to make informed decisions about their lives and the societies in which they live. Educators and media professionals therefore have a key role to play in empowering young people.

Conversely, news producers are typically underserved in regards to MIL, with most initiatives focused on audiences and educators rather than training journalists in MIL practices. In the Caribbean region, recent research from the PMA and our regional partners show that both audiences and journalists are in dire need of media literacy training.

The project will be implemented in a hybrid format, with online training and in-country activities planned in Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago. The activities will be executed throughout 2024, and will conclude in December with the regional consultation to explore the project’s replicability elsewhere.

We invite our regional members, partners and other media stakeholders to actively get involved in this media literacy project, whether as a participant, expert, collaborator, or contributor. Contact info[@]publicmediaalliance.org to get involved in building the next generation of media-literate citizens in the Caribbean. Your support matters!