Skopje, 23 December 2014 – The Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, within the fulfilment of its legal obligation to encourage media literacy and to monitor the treatment of gender in the media, organised a debate entitled ‘Critical Understanding of Media – Gender, Youth, Media Literacy’, which was held at the EU Info Centre in Skopje.
The director of the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services , PhD Zoran Trajchevski, had the opening address at the debate. He reminded of the new competence of the Agency regarding media literacy, introduced by the Law on Audio and Audiovisual Media Services and the obligation of the Agency to develop a special programme for media literacy. At a time when nothing can be taken for granted, we are surrounded by media and saturated with information and feel the need to constantly learn, that is, to raise our literacy on a daily basis. Probably the best summary of the essence underlying the media literacy is the statement of the philosopher Alvin Tofler ‘Illiterate in the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who do not know how to learn, unlearn and re-learn’ – said Trajchevski. At the same time he pointed to the third research on the treatment of gender issues in information programmes, and representation of women and men on television and the findings concerning not only the media image, but the habits of young people regarding the use of media.
Presentation on media literacy was also provided by PhD Snezana Trpevska of the Advanced School of Journalism and Public Relations and also an expert within the IPA 2009 Project of the Agency. Trpevska presented the key objectives of the Digital Agenda for Europe 2020, the Directive ABMC, the Law on Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, the European Charter on Media Literacy.
The audience was also addressed by Ms. Liljana Popovska, president of the Assembly Commission on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men. She referred to the conclusions that emerged from the research on gender issues and the presentation and representation of women and men in the programmes of broadcasters, while the results of the Analysis on the manner that gender issues are treated in the news of broadcasters and the Analysis on the manner of presentation and representation of women and men in advertising videos was presented by MA Dushica Dimitrovska, lecturer at the Euro Balkan University. The analysis encompassed a sample of 49 editions of the central news programmes and 33 commercial advertisements, aired during the period May – June 2014, on the national television programme services (both channels of the public service MRT1 and MRT2, Alfa, Telma, Kanal 5, Alsat – M and Sitel).
MA Magdalena Davidovska – Dovleva, Head of the Department for Research and Long-Term Development of the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services presented the results of the survey of the opinion of the public on radio and TV programmes. The results showed that within the territory of the Republic of Macedonia the single category, by age, for which the Internet is the most significant source of information are the young people, whereas all other age groups are mostly informed by television.