By Any Media Necessary: Mapping Youth and Participatory Politics

Anthony D’Angelo

In this phase of our Civic Imagination convening, we asked participants to conceptualize and nominate a potential civic holiday of their choice. Here is undergraduate student Anthony D'Angelo's contribution in his own words:

Modeled after UNESCO’s International Literacy Day, World New Media Literacy Day is a celebration of the social and artistic power of new media. If some 775 million adults on earth are without basic literacy skills, still more are without access to web media and the kinds of skill necessary to use those media to their full potential.

The holiday will be recognized by celebrating creative examples of new media art and activism, with local showcases organized by volunteers. A website built to commemorate the holiday might feature facilities for cross­cultural interaction via chatroom or web forum, encouraging participants to learn and exercise the power of internet communication. These exchanges are thematically fitting with the UN’s mission of international peace.

The event would be organized through UNESCO’s existing organizational infrastructure, and function as a charitable event aimed toward promoting new media literacy among internet­ connected parts of the world, and working towards connecting parts of the world that could benefit the most.
 

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