As artificial intelligence reshapes how people access, create and interpret information, how can media and information literacy (MIL) and AI competencies be strengthened across lifelong learning? This question was at the heart of the third webinar of the 2026 Seminar Series of the UNESCO Information for All Programme (IFAP) Information Literacy Working Group, held on 24 September 2026.
The webinar titled “Approaches to Integrating Media and Information Literacy and AI Capacity-Building in Lifelong Learning” brought together experts from Kazakhstan, Pakistan, the Philippines and the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE) to share national experiences and practical approaches for embedding these competencies across different learning contexts.
Information literacy as a national necessity in the AI era
Mr Muazzam Ali Khan Khattak, Chair of the Pakistan National IFAP Committee and Professor at Quaid-i-Azam University, opened the webinar by emphasizing that integrating MIL and AI literacy is a critical national necessity to protect citizens in the modern digital era. He highlighted that modern AI tools are prone to hallucinations and often fail to cite sources reliably, making traditional information literacy more critical than ever to prevent “data misuse” before misinformation spreads.
Dr Khattak stressed that true AI capacity-building goes beyond teaching students how to prompt a tool – it requires a secure, regulated and sovereign national ecosystem. He highlighted Pakistan’s strategy of developing sovereign AI tools, enforcing data localization through national data centres such as PK47, and establishing new regulatory bodies including the Pakistan Digital Authority and the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority.
He also emphasized that lifelong learning must target every generation from early childhood programmes to accessible mobile services for the elderly – ensuring that technology enhances human capability rather than replaces critical thinking. Crucially, responsibility lies not only with the users, but also with those who develop and deploy these technologies.
AI training as a gateway to media and information literacy
Ms Tatiana Murovana, Project Officer in Education at UNESCO IITE, presented findings from UNESCO IITE’s work with teachers on generative AI. She argued that the current, massive demand for AI training among educators presents a strategic opportunity to strengthen media and information literacy, as the two fields share a substantial common core. To illustrate this, Ms Murovana presented a detailed mapping of AI competencies against MIL competencies, revealing a significant area of direct and partial overlap. She explained that while the technical execution of AI tools differs from traditional research, the underlying cognitive processes are deeply rooted in MIL.
For example, she noted that what is often taught as the technical skill of “prompt engineering” overlaps heavily with the MIL competency of articulating information needs, framing questions, and defining the audience. Similarly, “AI-supported research” aligns directly with traditional information literacy skills such as question formulation, source selection, synthesis, and verification. She also highlighted how “AI-supported assessment” connects to MIL concerns about algorithmic transparency, bias, and accountability, and how “multilingual adaptation” ties into the representation and diversity of voices.
Drawing on UNESCO IITE’s experience in Kazakhstan, she showed how the growing demand for AI training for teachers can become an opportunity to strengthen media and information literacy. AI upscaling can serve as a gateway to MIL, helping educators use AI critically, responsibly, and in the best interest of their students.
From policy to classroom practice
Ms Tatyana Golubtsova, Vice President of the Psychology-Business-Media Association and Head of the House of Media Literacy of the Karaganda Region, shared Kazakhstan’s national experience of bringing MIL and AI into school education.
She described how MIL in Kazakhstan grew from years of civil society initiatives, while AI entered through top-down national policy, including the National AI Concept 2024–2029 and a renewed curriculum with new AI-related learning objectives spanning from primary to upper secondary school.
Her central message was that while regulation can be adopted quickly, lasting reform depends on well-prepared teachers, up-to-date learning materials, and assessments that measure students’ critical judgment rather than their speed with a tool:
“Access does not equal literacy. Although students are ‘digital natives,’ frequent technology use does not automatically translate to information literacy.”
Ms Golubtsova concluded by highlighting the need for stronger regional cooperation across Central Asia to share curricula, pilot results and ethical standards that respect the region’s linguistic and cultural diversity.
Emerging challenges at the intersection of AI and media and information literacy
The open discussion highlighted several critical challenges and opportunities for the future of AI and MIL in education. A central theme was the need to move beyond surface-level applications and understand the fundamental nature of AI-generated content. As Professor Ibrahim Kushchu, AI strategist and Vice Chair of the UNESCO IFAP Information Literacy Working Group, pointed out, treating AI as a static tool creates a dangerous blind spot. Instead, he argued for teaching the foundational mechanics of these systems:
“If we teach how generative AI works – simply guessing the next word based on data collected from an already biased, limited environment – it becomes obvious why it produces bias so easily. If we teach generative AI as core knowledge… it becomes much easier to identify and address all the downstream problems.”
This perspective shifts the focus from merely reacting to misinformation to proactively equipping learners with the structural understanding needed to navigate a “post-organic” information landscape, where information is created not by people, but by machines.
The conversation also underscored the urgent need for a global observatory or repository of best practices for teaching AI through MIL. A major challenge remains the lack of localized AI terminology and resources for marginalized languages, which limits equitable access. Furthermore, there is a critical need to move beyond simply deploying technology in schools to actually measuring its tangible impact on learning outcomes.
Finally, the discussion addressed the extractive nature of current AI development, where data and cultural resources are taken from underserved communities without adequate return. Participants called for “respectful reciprocity” between AI developers and the communities providing the data, emphasizing that stakeholders must actively work to bridge the global AI divide and support marginalized populations.
The IFAP Information Literacy Working Group
The Information Literacy Working Group is one of six working groups established within UNESCO’s Information for All Programme. The working groups correspond to IFAP’s six priority areas: Information for Development, Information Literacy, Information Preservation, Information Ethics, Information Accessibility and Multilingualism. They contribute to the implementation of IFAP’s activities and develop thematic contributions to the Programme’s work.
The Information Literacy Working Group brings together experts working on information-literacy issues and provides a platform for knowledge exchange and discussion of emerging challenges. Its 2026 Seminar Series focuses on current questions in media and information literacy and brings internationally recognised experts and Working Group members together through a monthly online forum.