Media and Information Literacy (MIL) has become increasingly crucial in Nepal, especially in the face of technological advancements and the widespread use of mobile devices and social media. Individuals are inundated with a massive amount of information, leaving very little time for evaluation and discernment. This constant influx of information, known as the infodemic, overwhelms people on a daily basis.
In this context, MIL skills are of utmost importance. The ability to access, understand, evaluate, critically analyze, and select information is critical. Unfortunately, media and information literacy is not widely spread in Nepal.
It is not included in our school or university curricula, and awareness campaigns are lacking, leaving a large number of people vulnerable. This situation has given rise to misinformation and information manipulation, which, if left unchecked, can create information chaos and negatively impact our democracy, democratic procedures, and institutions in the long run.
To address this issue, the Center for Media Research – Nepal (CMR-Nepal) has launched several initiatives. One such initiative is the pilot program to spread MIL among youths, which was launched in 2023. The pilot program includes the following activities in its first year:
- Training 70 teachers across Nepal in MIL knowledge and skills.
- Providing microgrants to trained teachers to organize awareness and skills workshops for 20-40 students in their respective schools.
- Publication of resource materials, including a resource book for trainers, a handbook for youth, and a training manual for teachers.
The philosophy behind this project is to empower teachers. Not only will they continue to spread MIL knowledge and skills to their students beyond the project period, but they will also serve as a focal point in each school, facilitating easy access for their students.
Our MIL pilot program is funded through various projects, including those supported by The Asia Foundation, The Open Society Foundation, and the Tactical Tech.
In June 2023, we published a resource book for trainers and conducted two Training of Trainers sessions for 16 teachers, with eight teachers in each of the Madhesh and Lumbini provinces. Three of these teachers have already organized workshops with their students, yielding results that have increased our confidence in the effectiveness and impact of our approach.
We have plans to organize more training of teachers and award microgrants to them to organize student workshops at their schools in coming months.
Our resource books and handbook is freely available to all interested in media and information literacy.
We have so far organized MIL TOT Workshop for Teachers in following provinces:
- Madhesh, Lumbini, Koshi, Gandaki, Karnali and Sudurpaschim