In 2007, UNESCO initiated a development of a set of Information Literacy (IL) indicators which would allow its Member States to measure the IL at national and individual levels and know the extent to which their citizens are able to participate in knowledge societies.

In 2011, UNESCO decided to apply a joint approach including media literacy in already ongoing IL indicators development process. UNESCO believes that media and information play an important role in the creation and development of democratic culture and an active civil society. It is also built on a conceptual assumption that literacy is a dynamic, perforce situational and both culturally and linguistically diverse.

As new information and communication technologies (ICTs) proliferate, opening up new possibilities for social, economic and political development, a new set of critical competencies (skills, knowledge, attitudes) are required to make effective use of their potential. Individuals needs to become variously literate, demonstrating different levels and uses of literacy according to their environments and needs.

UNESCO’s Communication and Information Sector and UNESCO Institute of Statistics in Montreal collaborate with number of institutions currently engaged in measuring activities in order to develop a set of indicators to be used for the measurement of MIL literacy.