The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) has urged youths to deploy the benefits of Media Information Literacy (MIL) skills to promote positive information that will go a long way in promoting social inclusion and national cohesion.
AFRICMIL Coordinator, Dr Chido Onumah, made the call during a two-day Webinar on Building MIL in partnership with the Roasa Luxemburg Foundation to empower youths to combat fake news and promote positive information in Nigeria.
He said daily fake news and messages with divisive undertones are posted on social media for consumption by unsuspecting users adding that usually bring about one-sided discourse, pitting groups of youths against one another and giving rise to hate speech which threatens peaceful coexistence.
”MIL skills are sets of competencies that provides young people in a world of expanding information and communication technology with the ability to navigate the media.
”It also helps youths to produce media, understand and critically assess information and media messages and apply them in their interpersonal and community relationship,” he said.
He added that the training became imperative due to the daily, fake news and messages with divisive undertones being posted on social media for consumption by unsuspecting users.
He said that this in turn usually brought about one-sided discourse, pitting groups of youths against one another and giving rise to hate speech which threatened peaceful coexistence.
“It is impossible these days to get an average youth to see issues as they are without attaching religious or ethnic sentiments to them.
“The lack of cohesion among youths has further allowed selfish leaders to keep looting the public treasury at will while denying the populace the opportunity of a better life.
“It is, therefore, important to empower citizens, particularly youths, with the ability to see through the antics of the peddlers of fake news and hate speech.
“Developing the capacity of youths to deploy the benefits of MIL skills to counter false information and promote positive information will go a long way in promoting social inclusion and national cohesion.’’
Onumah said t aims to promote MIL as a key component in the enhancement of democracy and good governance as it trains, empower and galvanise youths and students in tertiary institutions across the country.
He said the intervention was planned to provide youths the opportunity to understand and deal with contemporary issues in a way that was responsible, informed, inclusive and effective as a way of ensuring unity, peace, and progress in Nigeria.
He said that the news media and the internet provided youths with a window to the world providing tremendous opportunities, but also carry some risks, therefore, MIL helps youths take advantage of the opportunities, while safely avoiding the risks.
Onumah said that the intervention was targeted at youths and students because they were the catalyst of change and considered an important social category that could help drive any progressive ideas and objectives forward.
This ,he said was because the future of democracy in Nigeria lied greatly on the shoulder of youths whose energy, knowledge and approach to governance would help in promoting social and peaceful co-existence in the country.
Dr Claus Konig , Regional Director , Rosa Luxemburg West Africa who was represented by Ms Angela Odah, Programme Manager, said that the focus on youths to promote peace, intercultural dialogue and democratic decision making was apt.
Konig said that Nigerian youths had been on the fringes of the 21 years of continuous civil rule in Nigeria and they had lived through harsh academic policies giving rise to a series of strikes.
He said that historically, Nigerian youths had been in the forefront of the struggle for democratisation of society, and of decision making in Nigeria’s institutions of higher learning.
“Therefore, having a forum like this to promote intercultural dialogue is useful as this discussion could help to revive the help to revive the vibrancy of the campuses and restore some of its progressive content.
“The topic of today’s Webinar: Social Media as a New Communication Strategy in the Promotion of Peace and Intercultural Dialogue is very important in view of the challenges Nigeria faces in the area of security, economically and socially.’’
According to Kinig , the foundation has supported series of debates on issues of development: political, economic, social or cultural with selected higher institutions and non-governmental organizations and trade unions.
He said that the purpose of the programme was to increase youth political participation in the region in order to strengthen democracy and contribute towards a peaceful political culture.(NAN)