Mark your calendars! UNESCO will celebrate Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week 2021 from 24 to 31 October, hosted by South Africa, and the global library field is invited to take part!

Since 2012, UNESCO has set aside a week every October to review and celebrate progress towards achieving the goal of media and information literacy for all. This is carried out in cooperation with the UNESCO MIL Alliance, the UNESCO-UNAOC MIL and Intercultural Dialogue (MILID) University Network, and other partners – including IFLA.

This year’s Media and Information week will include the opportunity to highlight the work being done by libraries towards elevating media and information literacy among their users and in their communities.

To take part in Global MIL Week, you are invited to plan an in-person or virtual side event in your library, which will be featured on the UNESCO website.

For libraries, events might include:

  • Curating and sharing a selection of books, e-books, and children’s stories from your collection on topics related to MIL
  • Compiling educational resources into an online resource on MIL
  • Hosting a virtual event (live or pre-recorded) such as a webinar, panel discussion, quiz, or story-time
  • Engaging with your community on social media with a campaign to raise awareness on MIL issues

Stay tuned, the theme for Global MIL Week 2021 will be announced soon!

What can you do now?

In the meantime, IFLA invites our global network of libraries to take stock of the work that you have done over the past year towards building media and information literacy in your library, community, and beyond. Start to think of a side event that can showcase this work and engage your community even further in developing media and information literacy.

You can visit the UNESCO register of MIL events around the world from 2020 to get an idea of side-events others have organised: Global MIL Week 2020 Around the World

Take a look at IFLA’s Get Into Global MIL Week 2020 guide for ideas on low/no-cost side events that can help libraries plan an event to be featured on the Global MIL Map. An updated guide for 2021 will be shared in the coming months.

Interested in learning more? Contact: claire.mcguire@ifla.org for help.