With the organization of the Media Development Agency, a "Media Literacy" conference was held at the Baku Youth Center with the participation of about 300 young people living in Baku city and regions in order to raise awareness about media literacy.

According to the information given to APA by the agency, the conference started with the playing of the National Anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Later, National Leader Heydar Aliyev and the martyrs of the Patriotic War were commemorated with a 1-minute silence.

The Executive Director of the Media Development Agency, Ahmet Ismayilov, who delivered the opening speech at the event, emphasized that the rapid expansion of the scope of the electronic information society, the ease of access to information in the conditions of digital reality, the society's difficulties in determining the objective side of information, in addition to creating the need to educate media-literate consumers, also create the need for the media's own professional requires consistent and urgent steps to be taken in order to effectively perform its function.

Later, a panel session on "Media education in the modern information environment" was held, moderated by the head of the public relations sector of the Ministry of Education, Cesarat Valehov.

Adviser to the Minister of Science and Education, Nijat Mammadli, who spoke at the panel session, said that the programs, trainings, conferences, and events organized and taught at school and outside of school, aimed at improving digital media skills and increasing media awareness, are special for strengthening the socio-cultural potential of young people, as well as for the development of society. is important.

Rector of Baku State University, Elchin Babayev, in his speech, emphasized the importance of expanding educational activities to increase media literacy among young people, as well as adapting the concept of literacy in the processes of information production and consumption to the requirements of the modern era.

Rector of Baku Slavic University Anar Nagiyev pointed out that if we look at the international experience, we can see that teaching media literacy at the level of formal education plays an important protective role in increasing the awareness of children, teenagers and young people against the negative effects of the media.

According to Fuad Hajiyev, rector of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Physical Education and Sports during his speech, studies show that the most used strategy for increasing media literacy by countries with high indicators of media literacy is to include the topic in the educational system at many levels and take coordinated measures in this regard. .

Later, the second panel session was held on the topic "The importance of media literacy in social and social development of young people".

Director of "ASAN Radio" Emin Mousavi, who moderated the panel session, emphasized the importance of the "Smart media" project implemented jointly with MEDIA Agency.

Indira Hajiyeva, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan, noted that increasing media literacy is one of the most important tools to minimize the negative consequences of the media, reduce the potential harmful effects of participation in digital platforms, and help young people become critical consumers and creators in the digital world.

Farid Jafarov, executive director of the Youth Fund, said that the modernization of the global information environment makes many vulnerable groups of users, namely children, teenagers and young people, a direct target of the negative effects of the media.

Therefore, the work done in this field in the international practice is initially in the direction of the implementation of awareness and education programs for young people.

Shafaq Mehraliyeva, the head of the Communication and Digital Media program of ADA University, spoke about the goal of increasing media literacy skills and the importance of conducting extensive and continuous educational activities related to the evaluation of media content.

Yusif Valiyev, Chairman of the Union of Voluntary Organizations of Azerbaijan, emphasized that the rapid and dynamic development of the information and communication technology sector in the country in recent years necessitates the increase of media literacy among young people and the implementation of coordinated measures in this regard.

Within the framework of the conference, a workshop on "Against disinformation: Investigating the facts" was held with the participation of young people in the presentation of the representative of the MEDIA Agency, Parvana Ibrahimova, and the associate professor of the Department of International Journalism and Information Policy of Baku State University, Vafa Iskenderova.

Later, the "#MEDIAtalks" event was held in the "TEDx" format.

Vusala Mammadova, the host of Public Television, speaking on the topics "Dangers in digital media: Disinformation and cyber-violence", "The power and responsibility of information", "Formation of media literate consumers", the author of the books "The Great Scream in Hell" and "The Prisoner's Camp" spoke about the negative effects of misinformation in the lives of different people. He talked about the effects and the important role media literacy plays in our lives.

At the end, there were interactive discussion sessions, and the questions of the participants were answered.