In this period of great debate about the COVID-19 vaccine, UNESCO, in partnership with the WHO and UNDP, has just launched a MOOC entitled: Coverage
of the COVID-19 vaccine: “What journalists need to know”, aimed at journalists, communication specialists and fact-checkers.
The interactive course will initially be offered free of charge in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. It is a joint collaboration between the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas from the University of Texas at Austin, and co-financed by the European Union. Upon completion, the course will also be available in a stand-alone format in additional languages.
In four weekly modules of the course, many of the challenging and evolutionary aspects of the vaccine launch will be analyzed, such as the science that developed the vaccines already launched, as well as those that are being created, the policies of acquisition and distribution of vaccines at the national level. and questions about equity, vaccine reluctance, anti-vaccination activism, misinformation and misinformation against vaccines, population immunity and emerging variants of the virus.
It will take place online from March 29 to April 25.
The course is available at the following links in French, English, Spanish and Portuguese.
“International scientific cooperation and vaccines provided hope for a better future within our reach. However, the success of global vaccination campaigns depends on building trust in the public and ensuring that they have access to the information they need. Independent and professional media play a key role in this process. However, to tackle such complex issues, journalists and media workers generally need knowledge and experience. For this reason, UNESCO is proud to co-organize this course, working with our partners and having the support of the European Union, to ensure professional coverage of COVID-19 vaccines ”, Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO
Source: UNESCO Office for Equatorial Guinea
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