Morocco marks World Information Society Day

The conference, held on 17 May 2010, hosted public policy-makers, representatives of associations, experts, teachers, researchers, students, librarians, journalists and other information professionals. They discussed the introduction of media and information literacy into the education policy in Morocco, and the role of teachers and librarians in this process. The conference was followed by a training session on media and information literacy, attended by information professionals from public institutions of Morocco.

Media and information literacy, through which individuals acquire a combination of technical and cognitive skills to seek, evaluate and use information effectively, develop critical thinking and acquire the behaviours for life-long learning, is becoming the engine of education in the 21st century. This implies a change of attitude on the part of teachers and librarians to make their approach fit for building knowledge societies.

World Information Society Day, celebrated on 17 May, reaffirms the strong commitment made at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to build inclusive knowledge societies. In an era where media and ICT are becoming the primary means of delivering information and knowledge, it is more than ever necessary to provide all citizens, especially youth, with the skills and abilities to critically analyse, use and create information.