The Council of Europe: guardian of human rights
Strasbourg
On 18 November 2022, a delegation of the European Seniors’ Union undertook a study visit to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
Dear colleagues and friends,
In view of the upcoming Global Media and Information Literacy Week, from 24 to 31 October 2022, initiated by UNESCO in 2012, we invite you to highlight the importance of media and information literacy (MIL), a key to participation in the digital age, a building block for strengthening democracy and digital citizenship. We, as European Seniors’ Union (ESU) invite you to celebrate the progress our societies have made in digital literacy and to underline the need to continue promoting initiatives that ensure digital equality for all.
The 21st century is characterised by rapidly increasing digitalisation. However, not everyone benefits equally from this. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted unequal access to digital technologies among and within population groups and the digital age gap was increasing. It was clear that media literacy is not just a part of formal education processes in schools, but that everyone must be empowered to participate in the digital age. As the ESU, we shed light on the opportunities and challenges of digital communication, we called on governments and stakeholders to take the necessary measures to engage everyone, including seniors, in an inclusive way in the digital age.
In line with previous initiatives of the Council of Europe to promote and implement a human rights approach in all age-related policymaking, the Department of Media and Information commissioned em. prof. dr. An Hermans to prepare a report addressing age-related challenges in digitalisation and exploring answers to pressing concerns. This work resulted in a report titled: “The digital era? Also my era! – Media and information literacy: a key to ensure seniors’ rights to participate in the digital era”. It is available in several languages, which can be found on the Council of Europe’s website.
As senior citizens’ associations, we can act as a strong voice for the needs and aspirations of seniors. We hope the report will inspire seniors’ associations and all stakeholders in the field of MIL to take initiatives to ensure the protection of the human rights of seniors in the digital age, by ensuring dignity, autonomy, privacy and free and informed consent for the use of digital technology. In this sense, MIL is not just a useful skill, an ability that can be used by anyone. It is -coupled with freedom of expression- a building block for democracy.
I wish you a fruitful Media and Information Literacy week 2022.
An Hermans
ESU President