We live in an information age, amid the wealth of media on the one hand, and information overload on the other. Being constantly bombarded by texts, images, videos, wikis, and more has posed us with the challenge of navigating our mediated worlds and coping with the changing demands of our social lives. Yet, seldom do we think about the processes of such information production, consumption, and their implications.

At this critical juncture of the information society, being literate about the processes that drive content and news generation becomes vital. Media literacy is concerned with helping society develop an informed and critical understanding of the nature of media, the techniques used, and the impact of these techniques. Further, it is the education that aims to increase the society’s understanding and experience of how media work, produce meaning, organize and construct reality. Media Literacy also aims to equip society with both the knowledge and the skills required to transcend citizens from mere consumers to prosumers of media.

Media literacy is conceptualized as a broad canvas that accommodates all aspects of the media domain – Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations, Integrated Marketing Communication, Films, TV Series, Reality Shows, Music Production, Radio and Podcasts, Social Media Content, Digital Design, Video Games, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Theatre, Audience Studies, Media Education etc.

The only way to ensure that we become responsible citizens of democracies functioning within an interconnected world is by ensuring not only freedom of expression and freedom of information, but also the freedom to understand how information is procured, processed and delivered; and equip ourselves with the skills required to critically evaluate, comprehend and consume the flood of media messages. Media literacy aims to create an informed citizenry capable of deliberating and exercising their agency and produce a media ecosystem that is based on ethics, assures plurality of voices, and thereby facilitates a vibrant democracy. The seminar, while retaining its egalitarian ideals, also hopes to take stock of the critical tension in trying to box the audience into slots like ‘vulnerable’, ‘ignorant’, ‘passive’, ‘critical’, ‘resistant’ etc., and lend space to explore more fissures to be opened up in the Media Literacy project.

Keeping in line with one of UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals of building competencies among citizens of the world in Media, Information and Digital Literacy, the Department of Media Studies, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, aims to use the MEDIA MEET 2020 conference to influence society to understand the importance of media literacy and adopt it in our everyday lives in the era of post-truth.