An E-conference on “Resisting Disinfomedic: Using Media and Information Literacy for Peaceful Coexistence” was organised on October 30, 2020 by GSDS in association with Indian Association of Teachers of Library and Information Science (IATLIS), Malviya Centre for Peace Research, Banaras Hindu University, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and UNESCO Chair for Peace and Intercultural Understanding (UniTwin). The key speakers who spoke on the occasion were Prof. Priyankar Upadhyaya, UniTwin; Dr. K S Arul Selvan, Associate Professor, School of Journalism & New Media Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU); Prof. Anubhuti Yadav, Head Department of New Media and Information Technology, Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) and Dr. Vedabhyas Kundu, Programme Officer, GSDS. Shri Dipanker Shri Gyan, Director GSDS delivered the welcome address. The entire proceeding of this conference was moderated by Prof. Jagtar Singh, Coordinator, Media and Information Literacy, University Network of India (MILUNI).
Delivering the key note address, Prof. Priyankar Upadhyaya said that information and media literacy has become a crucial component in the lives of the civilians. The new social media has brought transformational changes and has done wonders, but at the same time, it has come up with challenges of being misused, like any other energy becoming, in what he termed as “Cyber Frankenstein” and cautioned that society need to be critically aware of using this Frankenstein for it may otherwise be dangerous. Furthermore, social media has brought the evil out of us, and India has been affected badly due to the diversity in the nation. The so-called educated people too are going by the spread of misinformation. Therefore, to promote good knowledge, UNESCO has formulated an approach of intercultural dialogue by bringing the religious leaders together.