Resources
Explore a wide range of valuable resources on GCED to deepen your understanding and enhance your research, advocacy, teaching, and learning.
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User Empowerment through Media and Information Literacy Responses to the Evolution of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) Year of publication: 2024 Author: Divina Frau-Meigs Corporate author: UNESCO Key messages Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI are having a significant impact on people’s engagement with information, digital technology, and media. This raises concerns about control human agency and autonomy over information, decision making, gender equality, and freedoms in general. User empowerment through Media and Information Literacy (MIL) as a response to GAI, which is still in its infancy, needs to be fully deployed and public policy makers should be concerned in developing it well from the outset. MIL is necessary to build people’s ethical use of synthetic media, i.e. video, text, image or voice content fully or partially generated by AI-systems. The societal opportunities being deepened by GAI include: access to information, participation, employability, creativity, lifelong learning and creative industries. The societal potential risks being deepened by GAI include: disinformation, loss of data privacy, threats to integrity of elections, surveillance, lack of source reliability, discrimination, including gender-based and racial stereotypes, and copyrights violations. Building on familiarity in the face of urgency, AI literacy can be embedded in MIL to teach and train all sorts of communities (educators, librarians, youth workers, women networks, etc.). Ensuring explainable AI is key to both the design of MIL curricula and to the design of policy and governance around GAI. To build trust in information and education, source reliability needs to be revised to encompass the different types of “evidence” provided by GAI. MIL can train informed people from outside the technology industry to participate in the design, implementation and regulation of AI, in a manner that remains human-centered, gender-responsive and mindful of the public interest. Training for MIL is within the remit of governments and institutions of higher education, which have a duty to ensure MIL policy actions are sustained and strengthened over time, to be future-proof, in the face of an ever-evolving AI/GAI. 
International Day of Education 2025: Artificial Intelligence and Education: Preserving Human Agency in a World of Automation Year of publication: 2025 Corporate author: UNESCO International Day for Education 2025 aims to: Examine new possibilities offered by AI, especially for teaching, learning, assessment and educational administration. Promote the development of critical AI literacies by equipping educators and learners with the competencies needed to understand, use and influence AI technologies, in line with the UNESCO AI competency frameworks for teachers and students. Ensure that AI complements, rather than replaces, the essential human elements of learning, including the cultivation of in-person relationships and emotional intelligence. 
Youth and Violent Extremism on Social Media: Mapping the Research Year of publication: 2017 Author: Séraphin Alava | Divina Frau-Meigs | Ghayda Hassan Corporate author: UNESCO Does social media lead vulnerable individuals to resort to violence? Many people believe it does. And they respond with online censorship, surveillance and counter-speech. But what do we really know about the Internet as a cause, and what do we know about the impact of these reactions? All over the world, governments and Internet companies are making decisions on the basis of assumptions about the causes and remedies to violent attacks. The challenge is to have analysis and responses firmly grounded. The need is for a policy that is constructed on the basis of facts and evidence, and not founded on hunches or driven by panic and fearmongering. It is in this context that UNESCO has commissioned the study titled Youth and Violent Extremism on Social Media: Mapping the Research. This work provides a global mapping of research (mainly during 2012-16) about the assumed roles played by social media in violent radicalization processes, especially when they affect youth and women. The research responds to the belief that the Internet at large is an active vector for violent radicalization that facilitates the proliferation of violent extremist ideologies. 
Journey through the MILtiverse: Media and Information Literacy Toolkit for Youth Organizations Year of publication: 2024 Author: Sandra Acero Pulgarin | Natalia González-Gil | Alejandro Santamaría Virviescas Corporate author: UNESCO Empowering Youth Organizations with and for Media and Information LiteracyIn an era where digital interactions dominate, young people must be equipped with more than just basic digital literacy skills. Media and Information Literacy (MIL) has become an essential competency, enabling them to critically navigate the overwhelming ow of information in our fast-paced and complex information ecosystem. \With the Internet user base getting younger every day — data shows that one in three internet users is a child — countries worldwide are increasingly working on integrating MIL into their education systems. Despite these advancements, many young people still grapple with challenges such as disinformation, hate speech, and other harmful online content. Additionally, new technologies continue to emerge, creating challenges with unknown impacts. For example, 80% of young people aged 10 to 24 use AI multiple times a day for education, entertainment, and other purposes. Global youth organizations are at the forefront of UNESCO’s eorts to promote MIL among young people through informal education. This toolkit serves as a primary resource to help these organizations incorporate MIL into their strategies, policies, and operations, aiming to make MIL a lasting component of their practices and peer-to-peer educational programs. Join us on this journey through the MILtiverse and empower the next generation by making MIL a fundamental life competence for their futures. 
Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Early Action towards the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Year of publication: 2024 Author: Nicole DeSantis | Lea Phillips | Christina Supples | Julien Pigot | Jamison Ervin | Doley Tshering | Juan Calles Lopez | Dharshani Seneviratne | Enrique Paniagua | Monica Mora Corporate author: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) This publication releases the methodology behind the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAP) Target Similarity Assessments and identifies key lessons learned and opportunities for future applications. 
Operational Guidelines: Constructing UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Cities Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: UNESCO To support the integration of media and information literacy in urban spaces, UNESCO is releasing operational guidelines for city governance stakeholders. These guidelines aim to help cities align their goals with the benefits of integrating MIL into physical and virtual spaces.The guidelines offer examples of actions for cities interested in pioneering the MIL Cities. Cities are encouraged to share their progress and achievements with UNESCO for future initiatives.All cities and municipalities can participate, regardless of size, internet penetration, or technology use. The guidelines aim to foster diverse partnerships at the municipal level for implementing MIL actions and programmes. 
World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development: Special Digital Focus 2015 Year of publication: 2017 Author: Iginio Gagliardone | Danit Gal | Thiago Alves Pinto | Gabriela Martinez Sainz Corporate author: UNESCO Given the success of the first World Trends report and the need for additional research, UNESCO led a second edition in the series, focusing in depth on selected digital-era trends. World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development – Special Digital Focus 2015 provides a substantive analysis of key areas identified in the first World Trends as particularly relevant for further study, namely the issues of: online hate speech, protection of journalism sources, and the role of internet intermediaries in fostering freedom of expression, as well as continued focus on the safety of journalists. It also builds on issues raised in the 2015 UNESCO study titled Keystones to foster inclusive Knowledge Societies. 
The “Hate Speech” Policies of Major Platforms during the COVID-19 Pandemic Year of publication: 2021 Corporate author: UNESCO Montevideo This document reports an increase in so-called “hate speech” posts on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although dissimilar, such an increase can be observed in the transparency reports of the different platforms and the surge in content moderation since March 2020.During the same period—as a result of the lockdown measures adopted in most countries around the world—platforms increased the use of AI tools for content moderation. Therefore, we can’t fully say whether the interannual growth is linked to increased posts or changes in monitoring systems. 
Gender Bias, Citizen Participation, and AI (Policy Research Working Papers; Planet; RRR; 11046) Year of publication: 2025 Author: Jose Antonio Cuesta Leiva | Natalia Gisel Pecorari Corporate author: World Bank This paper investigates the role of gender bias in artificial intelligence–driven analyses of citizen participation, using data from the 2023 Latinobarómetro Survey. The paper proposes that gender bias—whether societal, data driven, or algorithmic—significantly affects civic engagement. Using machine learning, particularly decision trees, the analysis explores how self-reported societal bias (machismo norms) interacts with personal characteristics and circumstances to shape civic participation. The findings show that individuals with reportedly low levels of gender bias, who express political interest, have high levels of education, and align with left-wing views, are more likely to participate. The paper also explores different strategies to mitigate gender bias in both the data and the algorithms, demonstrating that gender bias remains a persistent factor even after applying corrective measures. Notably, lower machismo thresholds are required for participation in more egalitarian societies, with men needing to exhibit especially low machismo levels. Ultimately, the findings emphasize the importance of integrated strategies to tackle gender bias and increase participation, offering a framework for future studies to expand on nonlinear and complex social dynamics. 
Disability Equality in the Media: Representation, Accessibility, Management; Practical Manual Year of publication: 2025 Corporate author: UNESCO Promoting Disability Equality in the Media Despite all the positive changes happening in newsrooms and leadership roles, diversity in the media remains a challenge.When certain groups are left out, the media fails to present all angles of a story, missing diverse perspectives and innovative ideas. Consequently, audiences do not receive the full picture, and promises of fair and accurate representation often fall short, affecting our perceptions of each other in society. It is the case of persons with disabilities, who make up 16 percent of the global population but remain one of the most marginalized groups. Media coverage frequently overlooks them, and when their stories are told, they are often framed through stereotypes. This not only creates barriers but also denies them their rights. To address this, media organizations should enhance editorial policies and representation, improve employment conditions, and foster a more inclusive environment for professionals with disabilities.The Practical Manual and Master Class provide hands-on advice to editorial teams on how to ensure fair and unbiased coverage of disability. For content producers, it details how to make media content and services accessible. To managers and decision makers, the material inspires change, demonstrating how disability equality can contribute to media industry growth and create new revenue streams.This work contributes to the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) and promotes freedom of expression, media development, and access to information for the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in public debate.