The Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ms. Josephine Nkrumah has urged all citizens to develop the passion to read and be curious about information circulated. She said this during the Global Media and Information Literacy Week, 2019 on the theme Media and Information Literate Citizens: Informed, Engaged, Empowered.
“Another challenge we have to deal with is the lack of interest in reading and that is one of the barriers when it comes to media literacy”, she said. She also mentioned that it is important to critically analyze information and check its credibility before passing it on.
Ms. Nkrumah took the opportunity to clear the waves and encourage citizens to get involved in the upcoming District Level Elections and Referendum on 17th December 2019 because it is a civic right and responsibility. She noted that some media houses are still misinforming citizens on the need for the referendum.
She stated that even though the NCCE is educating the citizens, the media is constantly sending the wrong information. “The Referendum is not to elect Metropolitan Municipal District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) but rather to amend Article 55(3) of the 1992 Constitution which does not allow political parties to get involved in the local governance system”, she stressed.
Chairman of the occasion, Ambassador Kabral Blay- Amihere stated that with the introduction of computer and the internet over the past few decades had made access to
information very easy. Therefore, it is important to acquire the necessary skills to keep up with the trend and get the best out of it.
Head, Department of Communication, GIJ, Dr. Lawrencia Agyepong, and Executive Director Penplusbyte, Madam Juliet A. Amoah both stressed the importance of taking media literacy to a higher level. Meaning media literacy should be introduced into the school curriculum especially now because many people do not understand the information received before passing it on to others.
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