News
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New Games for Media and Information Literacy
The UNESCO Office in Abuja and the Association of Communication Scholars & Professional of Nigeria have developed some innovative resources to assist media and information literacy:- a Media and Information Literacy Storybook: Sikito Has A Good Day. Full text online
- a Media and Information Literacy Fun Game. Full text online
- a Media and Information Literacy Card Game
Note: the full-text is not yet available, please contact library@unesco.org for more information - The UNESCO Office has also developed a Non-Formal Education Guideline of Media and Information Literacy Curriculum. Full text online
Details of the Global Media and Information Literacy (GAPMIL) Week 2020 will be announced as soon as they become finalised.
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Global Media and Information Literacy Week is now official!
Media and Information Literacy as a tool for development is now recognized by countries around the world. For nine years, UNESCO and many partners have been promoting awareness about media and information literacy (MIL) through Global MIL Week. On 25 November 2019, one hundred and ninety-three countries unanimously proclaimed Global MIL Week as official at the 40th Session of the UNESCO General Conference.This proclamation came on the heels of Global MIL Week 2019, which saw over 200 celebratory events in over 100 countries.
Follow news for events in 2020 on Twitter: UNESCO MILCLICKS - @MILCLICKS
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MIRA Theater - delivering Digital Health Communication to Rural Communities
‘MIRA Theatre’ is a digital resource center with a Smart-TV powered by Solar. Developed by ZMQ, a Technology for Development Social Enterprise organisation based in India in collaboration with the Philips Foundation, this most recent MIRA project was launched in November 2019.It addresses the knowledge gap in childhood pneumonia through a series of short digital stories embedded in the larger ‘Maternal & Child Health’ mobile-based platform called MIRA*.
It has created a new genre of storytelling called ‘Talking Comics’ to affect healthy behaviours for rural women with lesser literacy. The programme has created 6 digital stories created in local language and local context which are designed to create awareness on childhood pneumonia, identifying danger signs, prevention (through immunization using pneumococcal conjugate vaccine), treatment and care & support. The programme also supports identifying danger signs & monitoring and generating demand for treatment and support.
MIRA Theater moves from village to village and showcases the stories. The film shows are followed by focus group discussions (FGDs). MIRA Theaters have an average daily footfall of 150-250 women.
Video: MIRA Theater Childhood Pneumonia
*MIRA provides timely information to women about pregnancy-dietary information, medical care, dons and dons thus increasing awareness during pregnancy. It connects women with health services for timely delivery. It supports women to go for regular ante-natal check-ups, taking Iron-Folic acid, timely vaccination and encourage women to go for institutional deliveries. MIRA helps in adopting safer behaviours, and overall reducing maternal and infant mortality rates.
Additional featured MIRA Videos
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Scientific Animations: highlights for December
SAWBO* now includes over 750 different animations in their Video Library, with over 90 different topics in more than 140 language variants.Highlights for December include:
SOLAR TREATING OF COWPEA SEEDS IN PORTUGUESE (BRAZIL)
Cowpea bruchids can cause damage to cowpea seeds in storage, resulting in post-harvest losses. In this animation, we describe a solarization technique for killing cowpea bruchids before the seeds are stored.
MALARIA PREVENTION: BED NETS IN AFAN OROMO (ETHIOPIA)
The malaria mosquito usually bites in the evening until sunrise. At home it is very important to protect yourself through the proper installation of mosquito nets around your beds or sleeping areas. Use of bed-nets every night, children and adults alike, helps to keep the malaria mosquito out!
NATURAL INSECTICIDE FROM NEEM SEEDS IN SPANISH (SPAIN)
Naturally occurring insecticidal compounds can be extracted from neem seeds and sprayed onto crops to prevent pest insect damage. This animation explains how to prepare the solution necessary for spraying on the crops.
CHOLERA PREVENTION IN TIGRIGNA (ETHIOPIA)
Cholera is an intenstinal infection transmitted primarily by consumption of contaminated food or drinking water. This is very common after natural disasters such as a hurricane or earthquake. This animation shows how to prevent cholera using simple techniques.
MALARIA PREVENTION IN DANGME (GHANA)
Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite that is transmitted to people through the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. Symptoms of malaria are: high fever, chills, abdominal pain, headaches, tiredness and fatigue. This video illustrates several important measures to avoid being bitten by the malaria mosquito.
SAWBO also provide tutorials
If you have any questions about how to access SAWBO animations, the link below provides tutorials that explain different ways to access their content.
How to download SAWBO Animations
This tutorial video explains how to download SAWBO animations from the SAWBO video Library.
If you have additional questions about SAWBO, visit their Help page, or contact them directly at contact@sawbo-animations.org.
*SAWBO – Scientific Animations without Borders
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FameLab international science communications competition: applications 2020 now OPEN!
FameLab is an annual science communication competition that runs in many countries worldwide. It was started in 2005 in the UK by Cheltenham Science Festival and has quickly become established as a diamond model for successfully identifying, training and mentoring scientists and engineers to share their enthusiasm for their subjects with the public.Designed to engage and entertain by breaking down science, technology and engineering concepts into three-minute presentations, wherever you are in the world, the competition remains the same. Contestants have just three minutes to present a concept from their field of study to a panel of judges. Make it funny, make it enlightening and make it jaw-dropping.
FameLab is looking for the science communication stars of tomorrow, who can really show off their area of expertise in a fascinating and engaging way. Could you inspire and educate a live audience about your work with content, clarity and charisma?
Take part in FameLab 2020
Countries around the word (apart from the UK)
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Promote Scientific Literacy through Participatory Science Engagement
Eusea – the European Science Engagement Association – has publicised its platform providing information on a wide range of formats to encourage participatory science engagement.
To engage. To explain. To expose and stimulate thinking. To foster dialogue and understanding. To nurture teenagers. To stimulate thinking and many others ….
Left image: Science Shows
Centre image: Water World
Right image: Self Explanatory Experiments/GamesVisit eusea.info and search via Purpose, Target Audience or Format to explore examples or inspirations (videos, links)
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Why is science literacy central to societal and economic development?
The President of the International Science Council, Daya Reddy, gave the Opening Address at the World Conference on Science Literacy (WCSL), Beijing, China with the focus of "Science Literacy for Sustainable Development". Stressing that a scientifically literate population that can engage with evidence and make thought-out decisions is central to societal and economic development, Reddy challenged the scientific community to take responsibility to rethink how to communicate effectively to non-scientists, defend the scientific method and be creative and compelling in articulating the social, political, economic and cultural values of science.“Scientists have a role that goes beyond being mere brokers of scientific information. Scientists also have roles in the public discourse, often as advocates.”
Reddy used the opportunity to announce Advancing Science as a Global Public Good: Action Plan 2019 - 2021 [https://council.science/actionplan] setting out the ISC’s activities over the next two and a half years. The most important purpose is to form a practical framework and work towards their vision of science as a global public good.
The Plan, which is an ambitious programme of much-needed initiatives, will position the ISC as an impactful global voice for science in four domains:
- The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
- The Digital Revolution,
- Science in Policy and Public Discourse and
- The Evolution of Science and Science Systems
Advancing Science as a Global Public Good ISC Action Plan
More information on the World Conference on Science Literacy (WCSL), 10-18 October 2019 bringing together over 600 Chinese and international guests from five international organizations, 28 countries and 35 national science organizations.
Photo Credit: MAGDA TURZANSKA / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
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Children for Health: 100 health messages now in 18 languages
Congratulations to Children for Health who have announced that their 100 health messages booklets are now available in EIGHTEEN languages.Each PDF booklet has ten sets of 10 messages for children to learn and share in the following topics:
- Early Childhood Development
- Coughs, Colds & Other Serious Illnesses
- Immunization
- Malaria
- Diarrhoea
- Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
- Nutrition & Growth
- Intestinal Worms
- Injury Prevention
- HIV & AIDS
In addition to the sets of 10 messages there is additional content on ideas for activities that can be done with children to help them understand, learn and share these key messages.
All materials can be viewed online and/or downloaded without cost from the Children for Health website.
Assamese, Bengali, Gujerati, Hindi, Kannada, Khasi, Konkani, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and in English.
Download any of the 18 different language versions of the materials.
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The exclusionary power of Article Processing Charges (APCs)
Humberto Debat’s (@humbertodebat) poster at #Force2019 demonstrated the exclusionary power of APCs, and how APC waivers fail to provide researchers worldwide with the dignity of equal participation in the global research system. -
OA Week 2019: Open for Whom? Equity in Open Knowledge
NIDA believes that OA will promote greater global access, production and dissemination of information for equitable and sustainable development. Read about our strategic focus on advancing equitable Open Access (OA) policies.OA Week 2019, is particularly relevant being dedicated to issues of inclusivity of access/participation in scholarly communications under the theme "Open for Whom? Equity in Open Knowledge”.
Follow the OA events taking place during the week. NIDA will highlight particularly interesting efforts in the field through Facebook and Twitter