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UNESCO supports Media and Information Literacy training in Colombia as part of the “Social Media for Peace” project
In an era where technology plays a vital role in almost every aspect of people’s lives, equipping young minds with the necessary skills to navigate the digital landscape is of utmost importance. Recognizing this need, UNESCO supported the organization of Media and Information Literacy training for youth in Colombia. The training, provided by Movilizatorio under the UNESCO project “Social Media 4 Peace,” funded by the European Union, were designed to enhance critical thinking, foster digital literacy, and promote responsible online behavior of youth.
The training comprised of 4 workshops, 2 online and 2 in person, that were held between 23 and 27 June, gathering 60 youth and representatives of civil society organisations. The workshops held in person were organised in Cali, gathering participants from this city, as well as the surrounding municipalities in the Pacific region of Colombia. Through PAZalavoz methodology, developed by Movilizatorio and comprising the open debate around cases, the sessions equipped the youth with tools for identifying and countering hate speech and disinformation narratives impacting peace building in Colombia.
The ‘Social Media 4 Peace’ project is focused on strengthening Colombian society’s resilience against hate speech and disinformation as factors affecting peacebuilding and democracy. The tools discussed during these sessions are key for youth and civil society organisations to strengthen their communication tools as peacebuilding actors.
The workshops were developed with a participative methodology encouraging hands-on activities and interactive discussions through which the participants delved into the intricacies of media literacy, digital citizenship, fact-checking, and ethical online behaviour. In addition, the training touched upon the tools for engaging in peacebuilding, in particular through online campaigning. By cultivating these skills, the workshops empowered the youth to become discerning consumers and responsible creators of information, ultimately strengthening their resilience against online harmful content, in particular hate speech and disinformation.
The PAZalavoz workshops, developed within the "Social Media 4 Peace" project, are responding to a very present need of youth and civil society organisations in Colombia: better and larger offer on media and information literacy to prevent disinformation and hate speech. The project team met with more than 20 organisations to understand the existing breaches in this subject and to develop a methodology to respond to such breaches. The perception from participants has been quite positive, underpinning the importance of nurturing these types of spaces and even expressing their interest in replicating the content within their communities.
The participants in the workshops provided very positive feedback. Isabella Granados, one of the participants in the workshops highlighted that “this space empowers me to start creating my own content and disseminating news and information from my own perspective.” Another participant, Cristian Valencia, said that “this space brought a lot of knowledge to me, as well as several tools and strategies to differentiate false from truth information.”
In addition to Colombia, the UNESCO EU-funded project “Social Media 4 Peace,” is also implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya, and Indonesia. In these target countries, the project trained over 1.500 youth and representatives of youth organisations on MIL, fostering critical thinking skills to counter online harmful content, in particular hate speech and disinformation.
