In response to the current political discourse and the growing urgency for active civic participation, The National Association for Media Literacy Education announced that its 2017 conference theme will be “Engaging Citizens, Building Community.” The conference will take place in Chicago, Illinois, from June 26-June 28, 2017, at Roosevelt University. It will officially kick-off with pre-conference events on Monday, June 26, and full sessions will commence starting on Tuesday, June 27 through Wednesday, June 28, 2017.
The mission for the 2017 NAMLE Conference is to explore the relationships between media literacy education, civic participation and community-building within our contemporary culture. “We are acutely aware that exploring the issues of civic engagement and community building have never been more important than within the information society we live in today. We are excited that our growing community of media literacy educators, researchers, and advocates will be tackling these important issues at the next conference”, says NAMLE’s Executive Director, Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, whose conference planning responsibilities will be further supported by NAMLE’s Operations Coordinator, Alicia Haywood.
Tony Streit, NAMLE Board Member and Director of the YouthLearn Initiative at Education Development Center, Inc., serves as the 2017 Conference Chair. “In today’s society,” Streit shares, “the public’s participation in political processes and their use of media are increasingly interconnected. With the ongoing evolution of new media technologies, what it means to be an engaged citizen is also evolving and taking new shape. NAMLE’s Conference will make a critical contribution to understanding this evolution and how to educate citizens young and old.”
Program Chair Benjamin Thevenin, Assistant Professor of Media Arts at Brigham Young University, adds, ” More than ever before, media literacy is a core competency for engaged citizenship in participatory democracy.” Thevenin, who also serves on NAMLE’s Leadership Council and is Associate Editor of the Journal of Media Literacy Education, states, “Media have always played a significant part in politics, yet public perceptions of both politics and the role of the free press are at an all time low and in this most recent election cycle, discerning fact from fiction from outright lies is a 24/7 challenge.”
On behalf of Roosevelt University, Jiwon Yoon, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Media Studies, Department of Communication, says, “The NAMLE conference has been the venue for me to learn from other scholars, educators, and activists as well as to meet with old and new friends. The conference also has been a source of inspiration for my teaching and research. I am so pleased that Roosevelt University is co- sponsoring the 2017 Chicago conference.” Local partners include Free Spirit Media, Loyola University Chicago School of Communication, News Literacy Project, and the Technology in Early Childhood (TEC) Center at Erikson Institute.
NAMLE invites presentation and session proposals that address the conference theme of “Engaging Citizens, Building Community”. Potential areas of focus include (but are not limited to):
* Media, activism and social change
* Youth media
* Civic engagement
* News literacy
* Civic engagement
* News literacy
Potential proposal submissions will include individual presentations, panel discussions, interactive workshops, and other innovative formats. Scholars, educators, media professionals, students, and activists interested in furthering media literacy education are encouraged to prepare a submission.
NAMLE will begin accepting proposals September 1, 2016.
The proposal deadline is January 4, 2017.
Visit namle.net for more information about the conference, as well as updates on the NAMLE community.
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About NAMLE
The National Association for Media Literacy Education is a national organization dedicated to media literacy as a basic life skill for the 21st century. The NAMLE vision is to help individuals of all ages develop the habits of inquiry and skills of expression that they need to be critical thinkers, effective communicators and active citizens in today’s world. NAMLE Membership for individuals is FREE. For more information, check out namle.net. (@medialiteracyed)