The week of discussing media literacy issues has launched.

Talks, discussions, meetings and debates on media literacy and critical thinking will take place November 1-8 in educational, cultural, media and online domains.

For the second year in a row, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (MESCS) and the Media Initiatives Center (MIC) have been singling out this week to talk about practical steps on how to consume media literately.

Describing the meaning of the week, Deputy Minister of Education and Science Lusine Arakelyan said today at a joint press conference that what we hear, read and analyze is very important, that is, what kind of information we receive and, most importantly, disseminate.

The topic of media literacy is relevant in a variety of environments, as people sometimes need help in differentiating sources of information by receiving advice and becoming familiar with analytical tools.

The kinds of sources of information we receive and how we analyze it certainly influences our decisions.

Ultimately, being a journalist helps transform the quality of life for the better and makes public government accountable.

“The media should put more effort into helping media consumers become more literate, so that the public analyzes the content they create, disseminate and discuss, if they consider themselves a responsible media outlet. This will help the public to demand more quality content from the media, ”said MIC Executive Director, Nouneh Sarkissian.

According to her, educating the public should start at school and concrete steps are already being taken in this direction.

Many teachers from different regions of Armenia have taken part in MIC seminars and discussions and started teaching the subject, inspiring and encouraging schoolchildren to not only consume the highest quality media content but also to become a participant, contributor and distributor.

Lusine Arakelyan said the ministry proposes more systematic media literacy solutions by organizing various educational events for teachers so that they can talk to children about the importance of not only checking, analyzing but also disseminating information.

“For us, the key step is to bring the component of media literacy to schools, we will emphasize it by integrating it into different disciplines. Teachers themselves are interested. We are now training them to develop critical thinking through various subjects,” she said.

However, it is not yet clear how media literacy will enter the curriculum. As a separate subject or as an integral component of other subjects.

“The emphasis on media literacy, for us, is critical thinking, including how to use the Internet safely and securely, not to spread false information, to be careful about personal data, to verify information received, and so on,” said MIC Media Literacy Program Manager, Lusine Grigoryan.

She said media literacy for parents is scarce, and MIC fills that gap with interesting podcasts and videos.

During the week of Media Literacy, students from a number of schools in the regions will visit Public Radio and Public Television.

There will be seminars, discussions, video clips for teachers, students, journalists, librarians and all interested parties.

Young video bloggers will produce thematic videos, and interactive graffiti will be created in some parts of the city.

To be a part of Media Literacy Week programs, all you need is the desire. Various events and broadcasts can be tracked with the hashtags #MILWEEKARM19 and #IAmMediaLiterate.

This week the useful and enjoyable will be walking hand in hand.

Gayane Asryan