UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Curricula piloted in Colombian classrooms

Key to the initiative was the training of teachers from various disciplines -  Social Sciences, Language, Technology and Ethics – using the UNESCO Model Curricula “Media and Information Literate Citizens: Think Critically, Think Wisely” (MIL Curriculum for Educators and Learners).   

This curriculum empowered teachers to instill critical thinking skills in students, particularly in navigating the online information landscape responsibly and safely.

Rocío Tatiana Sierra CastroParticipant teacher from the school Liceo Mayor de Villavicencio

The lessons learned from this pilot phase contributed to concrete recommendations for integrating Media and Information Literacy into Colombia’s formal, non-formal and informal education systems.

The project also facilitated national consultations involving multiple stakeholders to prepare a background document for a Media and Information Literacy National Policy and Strategy in Colombia.

One important outcome of the project was the creation of 90 meticulously crafted prototype MIL lesson plans. These plans, designed through hands-on exercises, embody essential concepts and pedagogical actions outlined in the UNESCO curriculum. Themes explored include disinformation, information access and utilization, critical analysis of advertisements, media discourses, political implications of misinformation, citizen participation and identifying reliable sources of information.