Innovative Ways To Increase Social Media Skills In Sri Lanka – India Education | Latest education news | Global education news

“Innovative ways to increase social media literacy in Sri Lanka” was the topic of a closed roundtable discussion, which was held by the UNESCO office in New Delhi and the Mythos Labs on August 8th.

The round table discussion mobilized a large number of experts from institutions such as the Sri Lankan government, Facebook, Hashtag Generation, the Ford Foundation and General Sir John Kotelawala Defense University, Colombo.

Speakers discussed the rise in misinformation, cyberbullying and online harassment as the world shifts to the internet due to the pandemic. Participants also made specific recommendations on building the social media literacy of individuals in Sri Lanka to strengthen their resilience, preventive capacities and inclusion.

The discussion had two sections. The first segment provided the context about the current landscape of online safety and social media competence in Sri Lanka. Participants emphasized the need to address the diffusion of hateful online content and conspiracy theories that can lead to hate speech and social media violence.

The second segment dealt with the question of how the “Social Media and Internet Literacy E-Module” for Sri Lanka (SMILE Sri Lanka) can best improve competence through a new E-module that is being developed by UNESCO and Mythos Labs can be built on social media. The module, which consists of a series of videos, aims to educate teenagers about digital privacy and misinformation through comedy and “edutainment”.

The dialogue ended with a reflection on the need for strong partnerships and coordinated commitments from all sectors and institutions to mobilize and increase social media skills in Sri Lanka. The consultation provided important insights into the development of a context-specific and culturally sensitive social media literacy module in Sri Lanka as well as into the introduction of SMILE by schools, universities and partner organizations.