Using Media and Information is going forward, not backward

President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) government are taking practical steps to reduce the debt burden and strengthen the country’s economy, but the cost of living is soaring sky-high and millions of poor or middle-class people finding it difficult to obtain proper meal and provide for their healthcare, education and travel needs. Till the economy is strengthened, the government is planning to introduce bills to replace the widely criticized Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and introduce the Online Safety Bill,

which is said to be used to control social media. Yesterday, the Supreme Court began hearing 45 petitions challenging the Online Safety Bill. The Attorney General informed the court the government would make several amendments to the bill, including empowering the Constitutional Council to approve or reject the names nominated by the President as Commissioners of the Online Safety Commission. Meantime, there is added confusion and controversy over reported moves to abolish the Executive Presidency. This would mean a delay in holding any election, though the election commissioner has requested the Treasury to provide funds to prepare for the election.
At the 1994 Presidential Election, the favourite candidate Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga described the Executive Presidency as a curse and pledged she would abolish it within 24 hours.  But as the saying goes, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. So Mrs. Kumaratunga went on to serve two terms, though the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) pulled out of the government because of the failure to abolish the Executive Presidency. In 2005 Sri Lanka Freedom Party candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa also pledged to abolish the Executive Presidential system and restore Parliamentary democracy. Instead, he also appears to have been corrupted by power and went on to introduce a Bill whereby the candidate was not restricted to two terms but could carry on for any number of terms. Fortunately, SLFP front-liner Maithripala Sirisena and some others crossed over to form a coalition with the United National Party (UNP).

Mr. Sirisena won the 2015 Presidential Election and went on to form a Yahapalanaya government with the UNP and other parties but they too failed to take practical steps to abolish the Executive Presidency.
These and related factors need to be considered, and the United nations marks the Global Media and Information Literacy Week from October 24-31. The theme will be “Media and Information Literacy in Digital Spaces: A Collective Global Agenda”. In a statement, the UN says that in its common agenda, twelve commitments were made by world leaders. Among these commitments, UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted the values of trust and solidarity as being the glue for social cohesion and social breakthroughs for the common good.
However, the harsh reality is that the trust factor is being eroded. Considering the Common Agenda, the UN is calling on the global community to not only reaffirm and increase commitment to Media and Information Literacy (MIL) for all but to also develop new initiatives on MIL to nurture trust.
According to the UN, the Global MIL Week 2023 focuses on digital spaces and gives the opportunity to explore paths for strengthening multilateral cooperation with digital platforms and other stakeholders. It highlights some promising actions in connection with media and information literacy in the last year and how media and information literacy help with nurturing trust and countering mistrust.

Referring to media and information literacy for the public good, the UN says in 2021, the UN General Assembly decided to mark MIL week, citing the need for the dissemination of factual, timely, targeted, clear, accessible, multilingual and science-based information. The resolution recognizes that the substantial digital divide and data inequalities that exist among different countries and within them, can be addressed in part by improving people’s competencies to seek, receive and impart information in the digital realm.
In the current ecosystem of complex and sometimes contradictory messages and meanings, it is hard to conceive of the public good being advanced, if the people are disempowered in the face of opportunities and threats. Each individual needs to be equipped with media and information literacy competencies to understand the stakes and to contribute to and benefit from information and communication opportunities.
At a time when the UN is highlighting the importance of information literacy and balanced social media reporting, the Sri Lanka government also needs to fall in line and take steps forward instead of going backwards.