UNESCO: Georgia is Among 8 UN Member Countries that Teaches Media Literacy as an Independent Subject

According to a 2025 study by UNESCO, media literacy as an independent school subject is taught only in 8 out of 194 countries worldwide, and Georgia is among them. The study, conducted by UNESCO’s Media and Information Literacy and Digital Competencies Department, is titled “Media and Information Literacy for All: Bridging the Gaps.” It aims to assess the status of media and information literacy (MIL) integration into formal education systems and the development of national media literacy policies across 194 countries.

According to the study, an integrated approach to teaching media and information literacy in general education has been implemented in 75 out of 194 countries. The integrated model involves teaching media literacy alongside subjects such as civic education, history, languages, and mathematics. Notably, Georgia has widely implemented this integrated approach at the general education level as well, placing the country among the 75 states that have incorporated media and information literacy across multiple disciplines.

The UNESCO study found that in countries where media literacy is integrated into general education, it is most commonly taught at the primary school level. At the same time, the report confirms that due to increasing digital autonomy, adolescence is a particularly important and decisive stage for teaching media literacy. In Georgia, media literacy is offered as an elective subject at the upper secondary level, specifically in grades 10–11.

These significant achievements are the result of the project to integrate media literacy into formal education, launched in 2022 through the efforts of the Communications Commission, the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia, as well as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). As a result of these efforts, the number of schools in Georgia where media literacy is taught as an independent elective subject increased to 300 by 2025, with more than 90% of these schools being located in the regions.

At the initial stage of the project, the Commission carried out research on media literacy needs, and devised an educational standard, teaching module and textbook, which have been used to train around 2600 teachers across Georgia in teaching media literacy. Through the efforts of the Communications Commission, media literacy has been included on the list of priority elective subjects national curriculum.

The project to integrate media literacy into formal education introduces media literacy as an elective subject for 10th and 11th grade students. For one semester, the pupils study the language of media and information, information processing, types of disinformation, as well as the techniques of detecting fake news and determining the truth using different methods. One of the priorities for the Communications Commission, as the agency responsible for the development of media literacy in the country, is to increase the interest of more schools in teaching media literacy and to develop young people into media-literate citizens.