Online Reporter
Bulawayo Bureau
MEDIA and information literacy is critical in the attainment of Vision 2030, a national development plan to transform the country into an upper middle-income economy, which demands that journalists play a critical role in disseminating information that promotes positive national dialogue and economic development.
Chief director in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Mr Jonathan Gandari, said this in Bulawayo yesterday at a Media and Information Literacy Policy consultative meeting, which runs until tomorrow.
The meeting is being attended by Government agencies, media practitioners, educational institutions, civil society and the private sector to gather their views on what should be included in a media information literacy policy.
Speaking during the meeting, stakeholders raised concern over the validation of the policy and how it is going to be disseminated to the grassroots, saying getting the information to the people is the main challenge.
Mr Gandari said the idea is to have a media literacy policy which will awaken the thinking, the consciousness of the public to identify falsehoods and be responsible during the creation and sharing of content.
“There’s the content production, which should be done in an ethical manner. We don’t wish to see content which is manipulative, which is hateful and which is just cropping information. We don’t manufacture, we capture,” he said.
Mr Gandari raised concern that people from the rural areas are often duped because of misinformation hence the policy seeks to capture and find interventions.
He said the successful implementation of the National Development Strategy (NDS1) and NDS2, was achievable when citizens are able to evaluate information, discern credible sources and participate meaningfully in the nation’s economic development.
“We know that to attain vision 2030 in the age of rapid technological advancement and digital transformation, media and information literacy is critical,” said Mr Gandari.
“For the economic transformation that we set for ourselves to attain to be achievable, our citizens require the skills to critically evaluate information, discern credible sources, and participate meaningfully in our economic thrust, where ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’ and we require equitable development that does not leave any place or anyone behind,” said Mr Gandari.
“As a Government, we recognise that an informed populace is the backbone of a resilient democracy and a vibrant country that is built by its people step by step and brick by brick.”
He said when the Media and Information Literacy Policy consultative process is completed, a comprehensive framework that promotes responsible media consumption, supports media literacy education across all levels and combats misinformation and disinformation will be established.
“Today’s consultations are an opportunity for stakeholders from diverse sectors to share insights, experiences, and recommendations. All the contributions will be instrumental in shaping a policy that is inclusive, effective, and sustainable,” said Mr Gandari.
He said in today’s technological advanced societies, some people are overloaded with information while others are starved of it, but the common denominator is that everywhere people yearn to participate in governance processes and cultural exchanges.
“Today, when we live our lives both offline and online, it is not always easy to draw a distinct line between life on the web and real life.
“When we talk about freedom of expression, media, and information, we must realise that media and information literacy is a key competence in a rapidly evolving communicative society”.
Mr Gandari said 21st century societies are driven by media and technologies, including AI (Artificial Intelligence), thus the media space is flooded with misinformation, hate speech, disinformation, media warfare, lies, manipulation, and other illusions packaged as facts.
“We know that freedom of expression cannot be contemplated without thinking about the media – a public sphere so vital to the function of society. The ongoing process of digitisation has altered the function of the media as well as the structures of governance and the nature of markets. Our communication system is changing in terms of time and space, and modes of social behaviour,” he said.
