UNESCO supports the Press Council in Serbia to conduct Media and Information Literacy activities

(Izvor: unesco.org) „A big part of our efforts as a press council is to educate the media community about the professional journalistic standards. This is why, in addition to reinforcing the transparency of our functioning as a press council, we organize open sessions of our complaints commission so that anyone, including the journalists, can understand how we make decisions in relation to the code of journalistic ethics,“ said Gordana Novakovic, Secretary General of the Press Council in Serbia.

As part of the project „Building Trust in Media in South East Europe – Phase 2,“ the Press Council in Serbia has developed a series of educational videos to raise awareness about the importance of media ethics, the regulatory context in which the council operates, the rights and duties of journalists, and the online environment, among others. The videos can be found on the YouTube channel of the Press Council.

While press and media councils’ mission is to ensure media compliance with the ethical standards of journalism, these self-regulatory bodies increasingly engage with citizens, especially youth, to enhance their skills to think critically and recognize and value information produced by professional and accountable journalists. These skills, along with a wide range of skills needed to responsibly navigate our online information ecosystem, are what Media and Information Literacy (MIL) encompasses.

Since 2021, the Press Council in Serbia has been organising a series of traveling exhibitions under the name “Media Literacy Against Fake News” to showcase the importance of media self-regulation and mainstream some key messages of MIL among youth, raising awareness about the fact that access to verified and accurate information is their right. The exhibitions were displayed in various schools across the country, targeting over 4.000 pupils from elementary and secondary schools.

The most recent exhibition took place in the First Belgrade High School. The exhibition will be organized in Novi Sad in the fall.

https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-supports-press-council-serbia-conduct-media-and-information-literacy-activities