Grenada Workshop Builds Media Literacy Skills Across the Caribbean

The workshop focused on strengthening Media and Information Literacy (MIL), giving participants space to examine how people create, receive, interpret and share information in an increasingly digital society.

Media professionals across the Caribbean are navigating an information environment shaped by artificial intelligence, social media, rapidly changing digital platforms and growing concerns around misleading content, making the ability to assess information critically increasingly important for journalists, institutions and the communities they serve.

Against this backdrop, the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean and the Government of Grenada brought together media professionals, public officials, academics and civil society representatives for the SIM Caribbean Media and Information Literacy and Media Stakeholders Engagement Workshop, held on 18 and 19 August 2026. The two-day hybrid gathering marked the final activity of the Small Island Developing States Inclusive Initiative on Media and Information Literacy in the Caribbean, known as SIM Caribbean.

Media literacy becomes a shared Caribbean responsibility

The workshop focused on strengthening Media and Information Literacy (MIL), giving participants space to examine how people create, receive, interpret and share information in an increasingly digital society. Rather than treating media literacy as a concern only for journalists, discussions explored its wider importance for governments, communities, educators, businesses and other institutions that influence public understanding.

Online participation extended the conversation well beyond Grenada, connecting 39 media stakeholders from Aruba, The Bahamas, Bonaire, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Eustatius, Sint Maarten, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Eric Falt, Regional Director and Representative of the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean, stressed that media stakeholders carry an important responsibility in educating the public, while stronger digital media and information literacy skills among media workers can produce benefits across society.

AI, journalism ethics and digital change take centre stage

The first day placed journalism ethics and professional standards alongside some of the newest pressures facing the media industry, particularly the ethical questions surrounding artificial intelligence. Participants discussed MIL, cooperation between media and other sectors, and the digital transformation taking place within the Grenada Government Information Service.

These conversations reflected a media landscape where journalists increasingly work with digital tools that can speed up research and production while also creating fresh questions around accuracy, transparency, authorship and public trust. Building the skills to question sources, recognise unreliable information and use emerging technologies responsibly has become closely connected to maintaining credible journalism.

Media's influence reaches health, culture and the economy

Day two widened the discussion by looking at how media and information literacy affect everyday life across different sectors. Sessions explored connections with legal affairs, physical and mental health, culture and the economy, while digital inclusion and gender equality brought attention to who can participate in the information society and whose perspectives may remain underrepresented.

The programme drew on expertise from Grenadian organizations including the Government Information Service Grenada, Media Workers Association of Grenada, CIPO Grenada, Grenada National Council for the Disabled, Grenada Cultural Foundation and the Ministry of Social and Community Development, Housing and Gender Affairs. Regional and international contributors included the Media Institute of the Caribbean, World Intellectual Property Organization, Pan American Health Organization, UNESCO Office for the Caribbean and members of the Grenada UN Youth Advisory Group for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

Building stronger communities around reliable information

The workshop gave participants an opportunity to exchange experiences and consider practical ways of responding to a communications environment where traditional journalism now operates alongside social platforms, AI-generated material and other emerging forms of digital media.

For Caribbean Small Island Developing States, stronger media literacy can support more than professional journalism. It can help communities judge the information they encounter, encourage wider access to credible sources and give citizens greater confidence when participating in public conversations and democratic life.

The conclusion of the SIM Caribbean initiative leaves behind a regional network of stakeholders with stronger connections and a clearer understanding of the role media literacy can play as technology continues to reshape how Caribbean societies communicate, learn and make decisions.