The Importance of Media and Information Literacy Pointed Out

In honour of marking the Media and Information Literacy Week, the debate "Media and Information Literacy: Role and Importance in Times of Infodemic and the Coronavirus Pandemic" was held on 30 October 2020 at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Banja Luka.

In the debate, the importance of media and information literacy was highlighted, especially in times of infodemic, unverified news and the facing of different risks and challenges in today's communication environment.

,,The emergence of the coronavirus disease and reporting on the pandemic requires additional knowledge and skills for every citizen to be able to critically evaluate and use media information. These competencies can empower citizens to access the information and knowledge necessary for the freedom of expression within the framework of communication ethics’’, it was stated after the debate. 

The panelists, among other things, talked about how to use and evaluate the information on coronavirus (COVID-19), about confidence in the sources of information, „fake news“,  reporting on topics related to health during the coronavirus pandemic and the film „No Hero Without a Mask“. They also talked about the role of the Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the fight against misinformation and infodemic, and the results of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Srpska in promoting media literacy.

The debate was attended by students of the Faculty of Political Science and panelists: Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Banja Luka Dragana Trninić, PhD, editor of the show "Zdravosfera" of the Radio-Television of the Republic of Srpska and author of the film "No Hero Without a Mask" Biljana Marić, expert advisor for program contents and regulations in broadcasting in the Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sanja Dokić Mrša and expert advisor for telecommunications in the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Srpska Sandra Kovačević Đurđević

The event was organized with a limited number of participants who were required to adhere to all the epidemiological measures.

For more information on the global marking of the Media and Information Literacy Week, see this link.