How might information literacy be better recognised as a vital contribution to society? This is a question which is addressed by a new initiative, the Media and Information Literacy Alliance (MILA), which was set up over the summer. MILA, which is co-sponsored by CILIP and the CILIP Information Literacy Group (ILG), seeks to promote media and information in the UK as a fundamental building block for a healthy, inclusive, democratic society. It will achieve this by providing an open platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange, and by serving as a vehicle for advocacy, capacity-building, research and programme delivery.

There is an underlying and timely reason for taking forward this initiative now. In July, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) set out the UK Government’s Online Media Literacy Strategy, which includes key sections specifically on information literacy. For the first time, the UK has a national framework for media and information literacy. One of the Strategy’s key proposals is a call for better coordination between different stakeholders, across all relevant sectors, to help develop media and information literacy interventions. MILA fits neatly with this intention.

Already, MILA has attracted some attention. There have been useful conversations with DCMS and Ofcom; other organisations that have expressed an early interest include the Association for Citizenship Teaching, the Guardian Foundation, the National Literacy Trust, Newsguard, the Wikimedia Foundation and the WEA (Workers Educational Association). It’s still early days and the aim is to grow this initial list of players. An initial round-table meeting took place on 26 August, co-chaired by CILIP CEO Nick Poole and Jane Secker, Chair of ILG. This helped lay the ground for initial activities. For instance, MILA has already produced a framework which illustrates how media and information literacy relate to everyday and lifelong experiences. And the Alliance has started to scope a systematic review of media and information literacy, which will help to develop the evidence base in this area. It also has its own dedicated website.

There will be regular reports in Information Professional charting the progress of this important initiative. For further information, please contact Stéphane Goldstein.

Anyone who wants to find out more about MILA can join Nick Poole, Dr Jane Secker, and Anne-Lise Harding in a free lunchtime webinar on Thursday 28 October, from 12:00-13:00. The webinar will take place as part of UNESCO’s 10th Global MIL Week.

Details and registration