On 27 and 28 May 2014, the first European Media and Information Literacy Forum was held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
The high number of participants, which was around 300, was the evidence for the importance and relevance of the subject.
The lectures, both from European and non-European representatives, could partially reveal large differences in the presence and implementation of Media Literacy in the respective countries.
Due to the increasingly complex, digital world, the need to promote common strategies of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) was highlighted, to preserve and to increase democratic and humanistic values in today's society. Examples such as the false information spread by means of short films in Nigeria allegedly bewitched children, which can cause damage to adults and therefore should be mistreated or even killed, show clearly how powerful and destructive image information can be.
The joint adoption of the "Paris Declaration on Media and Information Literacy" following the Forum, includes a summary of the central effects of MIL and an encouragement to the various stakeholders, such as educational and cultural institutions, media and ICT companies, libraries et.al., to implement and increase Media and Information Literacy.
--> Paris Declaration on Media and Information Literacy in the Digital Era