Reading - Paris 2007 Declaration on Media Education

Reading - Paris 2007 Declaration on Media Education

UNESCO takes Media literacy seriously!

Already in 1982, UNESCO made a so-called Grunewald Declaration, stating:

‘We live in a world where media are omnipresent: an increasing number of people spend a great deal of time watching television, reading newspapers and magazines, playing records and listening to the radio. In some countries, for example, children already spend more time watching television than they do attending school.’

‘Rather than condemn or endorse the undoubted power of the media, we need to accept their significant impact and penetration throughout the world as an established fact, and also appreciate their importance as an element of culture in today’s world. The role of communication and media in the process of development should not be underestimated, nor the function of media as instruments for the citizen’s active participation in society. Political and educational systems need to recognize their obligations to promote in their citizens a critical understanding of the phenomena of communication.’

In 2007, UNESCO made another declaration in Paris, which you can read above or here.