By Ogova Ondego
Published July 30, 2015
As the world takes stock of how much progress it has made in meeting the eight development targets–known as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)–it set for itself in 2000 and shifts focus to new global development targets called Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), practitioners in the Media and Information Literacy and Inter-cultural Dialogue (MILID) sector have just published and released a book through which they project Media and Information Literacy (MIL) “as a tool for open and inclusive sustainable development.”
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This peer-reviewed academic publication titled MILID Yearbook 2015 and that can be ordered online for 28 Euros is based on “research findings, theories and practices of MIL” and guided by the theme, “Media and Information Literacy for the Sustainable Development Goals”.
Published by the Sweden-based Nordic Information Centre for Media and Communication Research (NORDICOM) in collaboration with UNESCO and United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), this MILID 2015 Yearbook seeks to “to promote freedom of speech, freedom of information and the free flow of ideas and knowledge.”
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MILID Yearbook 2015 carries 31 articles organised under five thematic sections and tackles subjects such as governance, citizenship and freedom of expression; access to information and knowledge for all citizens; development of media, libraries, internet and other information providers; education, teaching and learning; linguistic and cultural diversity; inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue; women, children and youth; health and wellness; business, industry, employment and sustainable economic development; agriculture, farming, wildlife protection, forestry and natural resources.
The 336-page MILID Yearbook 2015 is the third publication to be realised through UNITWIN, UNESCO-UNAOC’s University cooperation programme on MILID published by Nordicom’s International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media in June 2015.
The main objectives of the UNITWIN network are to foster collaboration among member universities, to build capacity in each of the countries in order to empower them to advance media and information literacy and intercultural dialogue, and to promote freedom of speech, freedom of information and the free flow of ideas and knowledge. The MILID university network now consists of 17 universities from all regions of the world.
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The writers of the articles in this book, arranged according to the order in which their contribution appear, are Thomas Röhlinger, Carolyn Wilson, Tessa Jolls, Jose Reuben Q. AlagaranII, Jagtar Singh, Anubhuti Yadav, Jordi Torrent, Ibrahim Mostafa Saleh, Harinder Pal Singh Kalra, Senada Dizdar, Lejla Hajdarpašic, Alton Grizzle, Tibor Koltay, José Manuel Pérez Tornero, Tomás Durán Becerra, Santiago Tejedor Calvo, Kyoko Murakami, Neelima Mathur, Sally S. Tayie, Adebisi O. Taiwo, Kathleen Tyner, Dilara Begum, K S Arul Selvan, Forest Woody Horton Jr, Ogova Ondego, Jun Sakamoto, José Manuel Pérez Tornero, Santiago Tejedor, Marta Portalés Oliva, Adebola Adewunmi Aderibigbe, Anjuwon Josiah Akinwande, Mia Rachmiati, Syarif Maulana, Manukonda Rabindranath, Sujay Kapil, Vedabhyas Kundu, Antonio López, Cornelius B. Pratt, Ying Hu, Li Xiguang, Zhao Pu, Ouyang Chunxue and Inder Vir Malhan.
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The editors of the publication are Jagtar Singh (Punjabi University, India), Alton Grizzle (UNESCO, France), Sin Joan Yee (University of the South Pacific, Fiji) and Sherri Hope Culver (Temple University, USA).