Shaping a Media-Savvy Future: Latin America & Caribbean MIL Week 2025

The Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Alliance of Latin America and the Caribbean, operating under UNESCO’s auspices, held a two-day virtual summit in October 2025, that raised awareness of the critical importance of media literacy in the Americas. The event was the first regional MIL Week and a building block towards the celebration of a Global MIL Week. Convening experts, educators, policymakers, and advocates to address key challenges such as misinformation, artificial intelligence (AI), digital divides, and democratic resilience, UNESCO included speakers such as Silvia Bacher, Regional Representative of the UNESCO MIL LAC Alliance; Ambassador John Feeley, Executive Director of the Center for Media Integrity of the Americas; Patricia Noboa Armendariz of DW Akademie; and Kiran Maharaj, President of the Media Institute of the Americas.

Discussions centered on how rapid technological shifts, AI, and social media are reshaping information ecosystems, and how regionally adapted MIL frameworks can counter misinformation—particularly during elections and crises.

Equity and inclusion were also central themes, with participants emphasizing the need to close persistent digital divides and expand literacy among marginalized communities. All participants stressed the need to integrate MIL into both formal and informal education, strengthen teacher training, build digital libraries, and undertake community initiatives to create sustainable regional networks and accountability frameworks.