Media and Public Communications Department of UNWE Is Already Officially a Chair of UNESCO

Thursday, 17 November 2022 14:55

The Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov in the presence of the Head of Media and Public Communications Department Assoc. Prof. Dr. Stella Angova and all colleagues from the Department signed the agreement with UNESCO approving that the UNWE already officially has its UNESCO Chair.

The Rector of the UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Stella Angova

After a long period of application and assessment the Media and Public Communications Department was approved as a UNESCO Chair on Media and Information Literacy and Cultural Policies for Sustainable Development.

"In the global world where information is flooding us from everywhere, the media literacy should be seen as a lifelong learning. It is our great responsibility to prepare young people for the powerful media mix that will accompany their lives. On the other hand, the problems of culture and the creative industries seem quite often to remain out of sight of society and the state. However, I believe that they make a great contribution to the development of the economy of any country. That`s why I am very happy that you have become a UNESCO Chair. I hope it will encourage the international inter-university cooperation which will lead to the improvement of institutional capacity through knowledge sharing and joint work", said the Rector of UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov.

"We have worked for more than two years on this project and we are very proud that from our university is the second Department in the country to be selected as a UNESCO Chair. We have two very important tasks coming from the name. We have formulated two pillars for which we report a deficit of committed public policy. Through our future work I hope to bring together the various stakeholders on the issue and get a socially significant result", said the Head of the Department Assoc. Prof. Angova.

From the left to the right: Assoc. Prof. Svetla Tsankova, Chief Assist. Ivan Valchanov, Assoc. Prof. Bilyana Tomova, Chief Assist. Diana Andreeva-Popyordanova, Chief Assist. Maria Nikolova, Assoc. Prof. Stella Angova, Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov, Angel Stoykov, Chairman of the Student Council of UNWE, Prof. D.Sc. Ivaylo Hristov, Assoc. Prof. Mihail Musov, Vice Rector for Research and International Affairs, Prof. Matilda Alexandrova-Boshnakova, Vice Rector for Educational Activity, Assoc. Prof. Rosen Kirilov, Vice Rector for Digitalization and Cyber Security, Chief Assist. IIlia Valkov

The Department

Prof. D.Sc. Ivaylo Hristov: It is a great achievement both for the University and for the professional guild as a whole. It gives the opportunity to go beyond the narrow national frameworks and to look at journalism not just as a craft but as a mediator in the society.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bilyana Tomova: We can contribute to a more enlightened and transparent cultural policy in order to have a much better governance of the cultural sector.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Svetla Tsankova: The Media and Public Communications Department is already officially a UNESCO Chair in Media and Information Literacy and Cultural Policies for Sustainable Development. It is a recognition both for the efforts of the Department in recent years in these two areas and for the UNWE as a university working on modern and significant scientific issues.

Chief Assist. Dr. Ivan Valchanov: The recognition is great especially for the Department activity. So I really think it is a step up because the Department, the lecturers and the students have the potential to complete this project.

Chief. Assist. Dr. Maria Nikolova: Being a UNESCO Chair is a great recognition for our lecturers and colleagues as well as for the University which successfully develops a media literacy project. We start to work on a key topic in the public sphere not only at national but also at global level.

Chief Assist. Dr. Diana Andreeva-Popyordanova: A UNESCO Chair is the highest possible recognition a Chair could receive. It provides many opportunities for networking and international partnerships. Even more important are the in-country partnerships the Chair will make with academic and public institutions.

Chief. Assist. Dr. Ilia Valkov: The task we have to accomplish in the coming years is to work for digital and media literacy. We have set ourselves the objective to organize many conferences, to work on different types of research related to media literacy in Bulgaria, to collaborate with schools, to work for greater cooperation with the institutions.


UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs

Launched in 1992 the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme involving over 850 institutions in 117 countries, promotes international inter-university cooperation and networking to improve institutional capacity through knowledge sharing and collaborative work. The Programme supports the establishment of UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN networks in key priority areas such as education, natural and social sciences, culture and communication.

Through this network the higher education and research institutions around the world pool their resources, both human and material, to cope with the urgent challenges and to contribute to the development of their societies. In many cases, networks and chairs serve as think tanks and bridge builders between the academia, civil society, local communities, research and policy making.


        

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