In charge of Media information Literacy in the French education system
CLEMI, part of Canopé Network (Réseau Canopé), is in charge of Media and information literacy (MIL) in the French education system. CLEMI was created in 1983 with the mission to train teachers to a better knowledge of the news media system and to build children’s citizenship skills by providing tools and fostering their critical thinking of media and information. Media literacy is a crucial asset to achieve a better understanding of the world.
Nowadays, children are flooded in an ongoing, instantaneous, media-saturated environment. By encouraging freedom of speech, fostering critical thinking, giving student tools to find and assess information, CLEMI’s role is to empower children to become wiser and smarter citizens. It is a major task at the core of the French education system and a major issue for society.
Press and Media Week at School
CLEMI develops actions in schools such as the Press and Media Week at School, which celebrated last year its 30th edition. It offers children the opportunity to discover the plurality of media sector and to discuss with media professional every year. 4 000 000 pupils and 230 000 teachers were engaged in this event in 2019 as well as 1 800 media partners.
Teacher training on media and information literacy
CLEMI is also in charge of teacher training on media and information literacy issues that has been integrated in French curricula.
CLEMI’s action rely on a national team, a strong network of local academic coordinators but also on several media partners to build up projects and actions for schools. Working with partners is an important aspect of CLEMI's work as we highly valuate the exchange of experience with all actors in media and information literacy in France, in Europe and overseas, for instance with the Fédération des journalist<ins>e</ins>s professionnels du Québec which organize its own Press and Media week at School.
Each year, CLEMI produces or coproduces resources in Media and information literacy for teachers: pedagogical file of the Press and Media Week at School, brochure "<ins>Education aux medias et à l’information, école/collège/lycée </ins>" for new teachers, as well as more thematic brochures (for instance on the creation of school media).
The Screens-Family guide
More recently, CLEMI decided to open a new range of action by addressing directly to parents and not only to educators. The societal stakes of media and information literacy must mobilize all actors to strengthen the continuum between school and out-of-school time. The Screens Family guide and series is the product of this mobilization.
