Media literacy: yesterday and today

On November 30, 2021, a training session on the topic "Media, information and digital literacy for local self-government" is being held in Bishkek. It is attended by representatives of five municipalities of the Chui region: Kochkorbaevsky, Sadovsky, Aleksandrovsky and Leninsky ayil aimaks and the city of Kara-Balta.

“Why do local government bodies need media literacy? Local self-government bodies are interested in maintaining peace and tranquility in the local community. LSG employees need knowledge on how to manage information on the Internet. But often the cause of unreasonable indignation, artificial conflicts is inaccurate information, rumors that spread, including on the Internet through social networks. And today we are piloting an initiative to conduct a training on this topic, because we will see the need for it, "said Ainura Balakunova, head of the Strengthening Resistance to Disinformation Project.

Almaz Ismanov, a media expert, founder and editor-in-chief of Prevention Media https://prevention.kg, was invited as a trainer.

During the training, participants will be provided with information about "media kitchen" (disinformation, media hygiene, social media and the code of ethical conduct in social media), digital security, including data protection.

The practical part of the training provides for the participants to work with their personal data in social media and prepare posts based on the knowledge gained.

The training is carried out within the framework of the Project “Strengthening Resilience to Disinformation” with the financial support of the Civil Society Development Association, Kazakhstan, under the auspices of “Innovation for Change” (#I4C). The goal of the Project is to facilitate the implementation of a strategy against inaccurate information on the Internet by increasing the capacity of local governments (LSGs) and representatives of local media literacy communities.