National Media Education Week gains partners and momentum in its third year

Educators will focus on online behaviour, encouraging youth to "Think Critically, Act Ethically"

Ottawa, May 12, 2008 - Media Awareness Network (MNet) and the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) will join with collaborators and participants across the country to celebrate Canada's third annual National Media Education Week, November 3-7, 2008.

The purpose of the week is to promote the importance of media literacy as a key component in the education of children and youth, and this year the focus is on encouraging young people to practice ethical behaviour when using new technologies.

MNet and the CTF are working with education organizations, libraries, and community- parent- and youth-based groups to organize and promote a variety of media education events leading up to, and during the week, including: youth forums, media production workshops, classroom activities, panel discussions, parent information sessions, professional development workshops and conference presentations.

Among this year's collaborators are the National Film Board of Canada, Association for Media Literacy, Media Education Project (Guelph University), McGill University Faculty of Education, Canadian Association for Media Education Organizations, Ontario Library Association, Historica Encounters Canada, Pacific Cinematheque, London Public Library and the Prime Minister's Awards of Teaching Excellence.

For the second year, CTVglobemedia is the Presenting Sponsor of National Media Education Week, continuing its longstanding commitment to supporting media literacy initiatives in Canada.

In keeping with this year's theme "Think Critically, Act Ethically", MNet and the CTF have developed free resources for teachers and students to address the issue of cyber bullying and online harassment.

For more information on how you can take part in National Media Education Week 2008, visit the Web site at: www.mediaeducationweek.ca or contact Media Awareness Network at: info@media-awareness.ca.

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Canadian Teachers' Federation speaks for 220,000 teachers in Canada as their national voice on education and related social issues. CTF membership includes Member organizations in every province and territory in Canada. CTF (www.ctf-fce.ca) is also a member of the international body of teachers, Education International (www.ei-ie.org).

Media Awareness Network is a Canadian not-for-profit centre of expertise in media education. Its vision is to ensure children and youth possess the necessary critical thinking skills and tools to understand and actively engage with media. MNet's programs are funded by its public and private sector sponsors, donors and partners, who include: Bell Canada · CTVglobemedia · TELUS · Microsoft Canada · National Film Board of Canada · Government of Canada.

For more information, contact:

Jane Tallim
Co-Executive Director
Media Awareness Network
Tel: (613) 224-7721, Ext. 230

Cathy Wing
Co-Executive Director
Media Awareness Network
Tel: (613) 224-7721, Ext. 227