Media and Information Literacy: Reinforcing Human Rights, Countering Radicalization and Extremism

"MIL [media and information literacy] is a strong tool, cutting across educational, cultural and social contexts. It can help overcome disinformation, stereotypes and intolerance conveyed through some media and in online spaces. Here, stimulating critical empathy is one of the vital components and there are many stakeholders that have a role to play in this dimension of MIL." - Frank La Rue, Assistant Director-General, Communication and Information, UNESCO

This Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue (MILID) Yearbook includes 23 articles penned by 32 authors from 15 countries who share the goal of strengthening and deepening knowledge concerning MILID on global, regional, and national levels, including in the frame of human rights, dialogue, democracy, and peace. It is a peer-reviewed academic publication and a joint initiative of the UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]-UNAOC [United Nation Alliance of Civilizations] University Cooperation Programme on Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue (UNESCO-UNAOC-MILID-UNITWIN, or UNESCO University Twinning Programme) and the UNESCO-initiated Global Alliance for Partnerships on Media and Information Literacy (GAPMIL).

In the introductory chapter, "A Context: MIL as a Tool to Counter Hate, Radicalization and Violent Extremism", Alton Grizzle explores radicationisation, violent extremism, and terrorism, noting that the media can directly or indirectly challenge or give validation to radicalised and violent extremist rhetoric because of its inherent power to: transmit compelling messages; influence and normalise certain opinions, beliefs, and social practices; and reinforce various narratives. He explores the importance of MIL in the context of the use of information, media, and technological platforms to mitigate or propagate radicalisation and extremism. "Socialization is embedded in information and communication and increasingly taking place through technological platforms, media and all forms of learning environments." He also examines MIL and a tool for intercultural dialogue, arguing that it can encourage connectivity across cultures by drawing attention to the need for all citizens to understand how as individuals, in a given context, make sense of their experiences - Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. He describes UNESCO's contribution to counter radicalisation and violent extremism, indicating that the approach focuses on three pillars: 1) preventing violent extremism by integrating MIL in formal, non-formal, and informal educational settings; 2) promoting the positive role of the media in preventing violent extremism and 3) celebrating cultural diversity through alternative narratives on social media (in response to incidents of the use of social media by extremist and violent organizations to radicalise and recruit especially young minds).

Grizzle contends that "A rights-based approach to media and information literacy and to sustainable development - including countering hate, radicalization and violent extremism - can play a crucial role in perceptions of the 'other' by encouraging reporting, research and analysis as well as the design and implementation of development interventions that are objective, evidence-based, inclusive, reliable, ethical and accurate, and by encouraging individuals to take sound actions based on their rights and the rights of others."

Following this chapter, the volume includes:

Community Empowerment and Sustainable Development

• Five Laws of Media and Information Literacy as Harbingers of Human Rights: A Legacy of Ranganathan's Five Laws of Library Science - Alton Grizzle & Jagtar Singh - sketches five MIL laws, proposing these as a guide for those who want to ensure MIL's impact on the lives of all people through a rights-based approach.
• Media and Information Literacy Interface for Community Empowerment in India - I.V. Malhan & Jagtar Singh - describes a participatory action research (PAR) project that collected and documented experiences from 35 educators around the world.
• Media Binds or Blinds? Community Mapping and Digital Stories from P20 Classrooms Deconstructing Myths and Misconceptions in Global Media Education - Melda N. Yildiz - explains an interactive online platform that showcases oral history projects and digital stories globally.
• Theoretical and Practical Issues on the Inclusion of the Media and Information Literacy in Education for Sustainable Development Programmes - Jun Sakamoto - explores possibilities of inclusion of MIL programmes with the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) programme.
• The Human Right to Identity and the Media Reconstruction of the Missing Persons' Memory in Mexico - Humberto Darwin Franco Migues - focuses on the recovery of the right to "be" that is denied people not only when they are physically made to disappear but also when they are made to disappear once again from the official language and the media discourse.
• Bridging the Gap: Empowering Digital Citizens to Build Positive Online Communities - Matthew Johnson - analyses cyberbullying as a personal and cultural issue in online communities.
• Migrant Workers without Media Power - Li Xiguang, Wu Yanmei, Sun Lizhou & Sidra Tariq Jamil - describes the tussle among the government power, the corporates, migrant workers, and media organisation.

Hate speech and Incitement

• Understanding and Representing Diversity. A Media Literacy Education Response to Discrimination in News Media Representations - Maria Ranieri & Francesco Fabbro - shows that it is generally more productive to relate critical analysis and media production to students' own concerns, tastes, and identities rather than to engage them in more abstract analyses of ideology.
• Media and Information Literacy, Hate Speech and Education for Tolerance: A Case Study of Brazilian Social Networks - Marcelo Andrade & Magda Pischetola - analyses a case study of recent conflict concerning hate speech on social media in Brazil.
• Long-Term Effects of Computerized Simulations in Protracted Conflicts: The Case of Global Conflicts - Ronit Kampf - presents a role-playing computer game from Denmark with the scenario situated in Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• A Pilot Study of Collaborative Learning and Intercultural Understanding Between Japanese and Chinese Junior High School Students - Kyoko Murakami - examines the nature of both Japanese and Chinese junior high school students' collaborative learning and inter/cross-cultural understanding of their counterparts' culture and students.

Radicalization and Extremism

• The MILID Toolbox: For Human Rights. Against Radicalization. Strategies, Methodologies, Tools – Fresh from the "Glocal" Grassroots - Thomas Röhlinger - brings to readers experiences such as MILID Children's Parliaments and Youth Councils or games such as The Machiavelli Game or the the "House of Cards" Game.
• Youth Radicalization in Cyberspace: Enlisting Media and Information Literacy in the Battle for Hearts and Minds - Tessa Jolls & Carolyn Wilson - explores the research related to the power and effectiveness of media literacy education and the importance of a conceptual framework for media literacy.
• Media and Information Literacy Against Online Hate, Radical, and Extremist Content: Some Preliminary Research Findings in Relation to Youth and A Research Design - Alton Grizzle & Jose Manuel Perez Tornero - presents a suggested research design in order to propose empirical evidence to help build a systematic strategy to counter hate speech online.
• Connecting the Dots: Preventing Violent Extremism; the Global Goals for Sustainable Development - Jordi Torrent - argues that MIL can provide inclusion in light of the many research and studies indicating that social exclusion (real or perceived) is the main engine that pushes young people towards violent forms of political and religious extremism.
• Representing "Us" - Representing "Them": Visualizing Racism in Greek Primary School Films - Palvos Valsamidis - suggests that actively engaging pupils towards a peaceful and harmonic life can result from audiovisual literacy.
• MILID: An Indispensable Intervention for Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism - Jagtar Singh - discusses how MILID can serve as an intervention to save Indian youth from the tyranny of radicalisation and extremism.
• Twitter as a Mourning Dove for the Blooming Buds: An Analysis of Twitter's Reaction to Peshawar School Attack - Sumeer Gul & Sheikh Shueb - performs quantitative and qualitative content analysis of tweets posted in the aftermath of the Peshawar school massacre.

Human Rights and Gender Equality

• Promoting Media and Information Literacy Skills amongst Young Women in India for Enhanced Participation in 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - Vedabhyas Kundu - discusses how the training in MIL empowers young women to not only critically understand the media stereotyping of gender issues but enables participation of these women to advocate on development discourses.
• Gender Perspectives and Human Rights in the Language of Advertising: A Case of Print and Electronic Media in Kenya - Lucy K.L. Mandillah & Egara Kabaji - evaluates the gender perspectives in the language of advertisements in print and electronic media in Kenya.
• Internet Trolling; Online Challenge for Female Journalists and Activists - Anubhuti Yadav - presents the concept of internet trolling and its challenges.

Inter-religious and Intercultural Discourses in the Media

• Digital Media Literacy and its Role in Countering Division and Enhancing National Identity in the Arab World - Ahmed Al-Rawi - argues for the inclusion of MIL education in early stages of education.
• Media Information and Literacy to Tackle Social Polarization in Europe - Jessica Cohen & Jose Maria Blanco - discusses Europe in the context of terrorism and refugees, suggesting that MIL could help bring down barriers that polarise people.