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Message from the Head of Office and UNESCO
Representative to Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Beatrice Kaldun
Head of Office and
UNESCO Representative to Bangladesh

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week is an important week of celebrating the empowerment
of people through literacy in media and information. Every year since 2012, during this week, UNESCO and

many stakeholders around the world are coming together to celebrate the global advancement of Media and
Information Literacy. In Bangladesh, the Department of Information Studies and Library Management of East
West University has generously been organizing Global MIL Week in Bangladesh every year since 2017.

We are all aware that this year’s celebration of MIL Week takes place during an unprecedented period of a

global pandemic. The past months have shown that, as we are increasingly relying on online information as
our physical encounters have been transplanted to the virtual world, MIL as a human capacity is becoming
ever more important. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the spread of disinformation, fake news and
hate speech online, deepening divisions and fueling risks to public health.
We at UNESCO believe that the ability to engage critically with the media and other sources of information

is no longer an optional extra, whether we are educating ourselves or the next generation. It has become an
indispensable skill that can dictate our well-being, both physical and intellectual.

This year’s MIL Week is celebrated under the theme “Resisting Disinfodemic: Media & Information Literacy
for everyone & by everyone”. During this year’s Global MIL Week, a large number of online celebrations,

events, workshops, and other activities are taking place around the world which are highlighting how we can
address disinformation and divides by recognizing our shared interest in improving everyone’s competencies
to engage with the opportunities and risks in today’s landscape of communication, technology, and

information.
Believing in the “for everyone & by everyone” approach, UNESCO is supporting and encouraging Member
States and other actors around the world to enhance media and information literacy competencies for all
through different, inclusive, and diverse approaches, and with the help of diverse stakeholders.

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