Jagged Integration: A Thematic Analysis of Media and Information Literacy in Digital Pakistan Policy 2018

Abstract

National digital policies are mostly regarded as blueprints for civic omission and governance ambition. Media and Information Literacy (MIL), as defined by UNESCO in 2013, is a set of five closely related competencies, Access, Analysis, Evaluation, Creation, and Action, most commonly agreed upon as fundamental in the strengthening of democratic resilience and increasing civic participation. (Buckingham, 2019; Frau-Meigs et al., 2017; Wilson et al., 2011).  No prior study has undertaken a systematic evaluation dimension by dimension of the main national digital governance framework of Pakistan, i.e., the Digital Pakistan Policy 2018, vis-a-vis the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Framework. This study attempts to fill this gap through deductive qualitative thematic analysis of the entire policy document (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Schreier, 2012).  The study uses Potter’s media literacy continuum (2014) and Hobbs’s civic media literacy framework (2010) as interpretive lenses. The study reveals a phenomenon, "jagged integration," which embodies the selective incorporation of provisions related to media and information literacy (MIL) that strengthens a techno-economic governance agenda lacking the critical, evaluative, and civic dimensions of MIL that UNESCO deems central. (UNESCO, 2013, 2020). Evidence-based policy recommendations that align with Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 16 are proposed.