“Moving Beyond the Single Story: Combating Social Exclusion through Media Literacy”, a joint project designed by NWAMI International Malta and with the African Media Association being the Lead Applicant, has been awarded a €25,000 grant from the Iceland-Liechtenstein-Norway Active Citizens Fund. The African Media Association’s Ms Regine Psaila will be signing the grant agreement with SOS Malta as to Active Citizen Fund operators in Malta.
The awarded project is seeking to bridge the gap between local and migrant communities by addressing issues concerning the creation, dissemination, processing, and activities related to media misinformation. The project will run under the acronym SMITE, which stands for ‘Stereotypes & Mass Information Together Explored’, and will be implemented under the management of Mr Levi Jikong. He will be assisted by the project outreach team of NWAMI International Malta.
The concept of this project is based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche’s notion of the Single Story and how this impacts our perceptions of one another, our attitudes and actions. The project’s first event will take place in April with an online panel discussion on the impact of single or incomplete stories published through online and social media channels.
The acronym SMITE was chosen by the NWAMI International project team due to its phonetic resemblance to the Maltese verb ‘smajt,’ (‘I/you heard’), reminding us of how easily influenced we are by what is whispered in our ears. This project aims to promote community cohesion through engagement activities between representatives of local and migrant communities, and by educational awareness sessions with members of civil society. These are aimed to educate the public on issues related to media literacy, address ethical issues in blogging and social media posts, encourage mindful listening, critical thinking, and healthy debate.
The SMITE project team welcomes members of local and migrant communities, the Institute of Journalists, the Malta Broadcasting Authority, the Malta Communications Authority, journalists, freelance writers, influencers, educators, student representatives, Local Councils, and community workers to join its online and in-person programmes. The team can be contacted at media.nwami.international.malta@gmail.com
The Active Citizen Fund (ACF) forms part of the special programme for civil society (2014-2021), within the European Economic Area (EEA) Grants. The EEA Grants are funded jointly by three donor countries – Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway and are allocated to 15 countries in Central & Southern Europe and the Baltics. The ACF has been allocated a budget of €700,000 for the period between 2019 and 2024. The objectives of ACF Malta are to strengthen civil society, empower vulnerable groups, promote human rights and social inclusion, and increase public involvement in civic activities.