UEW Scholars Win UNESCO Grant for Media Literacy Project

Eight scholars from the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) have secured a prestigious UNESCO Ghana grant to adapt and implement the Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Curriculum within Ghana’s teacher education system.

The project, titled “Adapting and Implementing UNESCO’s Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Curriculum at the University of Education, Winneba,” is spearheaded by Prof. Gifty Appiah-Adjei with the support of an interdisciplinary team comprising Prof. Esther Yeboah Danso-Wiredu, Prof. Emma Sarah Eshun, Dr. Latipher Appiah-Agyei (Coordinator), Dr. Gideon Ampofo, Dr. Shirley Dankwa, Mr. Cletus Kolog Ngaaso and Mr. Samuel Krow Anim.

The initiative seeks to enhance the quality, relevance and responsiveness of teacher education in Ghana by integrating Media and Information Literacy (MIL) as a core competency in pre-service teacher training. The project aims to address the growing challenge of information disorder in society by equipping trainee teachers with the ability to critically evaluate media content, ethically use information and responsibly engage in the digital space.

Speaking about the project’s background, the team underscored the importance of MIL in today’s information-rich environment. They explained that while UNESCO has already developed a comprehensive MIL curriculum, its effective impact in Ghana requires contextual adaptation to align with the country’s educational and cultural landscape.

In collaboration with the UNESCO Accra Office, UEW will pilot the adapted curriculum during the 2025/2026 academic year. The project also includes a strong sustainability framework designed to ensure long-term institutionalisation and replication across Ghana’s teacher education system.

Expected outcomes of the initiative include a contextually adapted MIL curriculum for pre-service teacher education at UEW, enhanced faculty capacity to deliver MIL effectively and a stakeholder-endorsed curriculum recognised by key national actors. The team will also implement the validated curriculum in selected UEW programmes and monitor their outcomes, generating feedback to guide a nationwide scale-up.

The project represents yet another demonstration of UEW’s leadership in teacher education and national capacity-building.  The eight scholars are positioning the University as a hub for equipping the next generation of Ghanaian teachers with vital skills to deal with the problems of the digital age, spearheading this innovative UNESCO-backed initiative.