Civic education for media professionals: a training manual

Civic awareness enables both media practitioners and users to appreciate the role of journalism and media in building democratic societies. This manual serves as a resource for journalism students and media professionals in developing countries, providing them with essential knowledge for the analysis of the relationship between media functions and active citizenship, and the underlying nexus of democracy, development and the media based on the fundamental principles of democracy and human rights that lie at the heart of UNESCO’s mandate. For the purpose of this manual, civic education refers to the cultivation of civic knowledge, civic skills and civic virtues. Civic knowledge consists of fundamental ideas and information that learners must know and use to become effective and responsible citizens in a democracy. Civic skills include the intellectual skills needed to understand, explain, compare, and evaluate principles and practices of government and citizenship. They also include participatory skills that enable citizens to monitor and influence public policies. Civic virtues include the traits of character, dispositions, and commitments necessary for the preservation and improvement of democratic governance and citizenship. Examples of civic virtues are respect for the worth and dignity of each person, civility, integrity, self-discipline, tolerance, and compassion. Commitments include a dedication to human rights, the common good, equality and the rule of law.