By: Olajide Oladokun
The Students’ Media and Information Literacy Club (SMILC) in conjunction with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Wednesday April 19 held a workshop on media literacy.
The workshop which was held at the Chambers of the Students Representative Council (SRC), University of Ibadan, was primarily to engage students of the university on the ‘Abuja Declaration on Media and Information Literacy’.
The workshop which was sponsored by UNESCO, and organized by Agate Multimedia Concepts was themed ‘Empowering Young People in Achieving the Abuja Declaration on Media and Information Literacy’.
According to the organisers, the Declaration which was made in October 2022, calls for the channelling of funding from government and non-governmental sources to media and information training programs in order to promote media, digital and information literacy among all classes of people.
The declaration also calls for more robust media and information literacy policies and strategies including accountability checks, regulation and self-regulation on the part of digital platforms and media.
Speaking at the event, Mr Daniel Nwaeze, community manager for One Young World, encouraged participants to always verify information before sharing as this will help reduce misinformation in our society. According to him, ‘We are all terrorists if we spread false information.’
The SMILC is founded by the duo of Korede Ajibona and Josiah Obong Josiah, who are both graduates of UI. They admonished participants at the workshop to embrace media literacy and not make themselves unsuspecting carriers of misinformation and disinformation.
Other speakers at the were Mr Ikulamberu, team lead Educand Education Initiative; and Dr Sharon Omotosho, the Staff Adviser of SMILC UI.
The seminar was also graced by Mr Francis Omosaye, President SMILC UI, and Mr Oluwatobi Odeyinka, editor-in-chief, Union of Campus Journalists, UI.
