One year after the approval of the Interministerial Plan on Information and Media Literacy: necessary steps for consolidation

Although the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Culture have been designated as the institutions responsible for implementing the actions and activities included in the Interministerial Plan on Media and Information Literacy (MIL), a document approved by the two entities a year ago that promotes critical thinking and media education, coordination, planning, and communication between the parties involved are at an early stage and need improvement. This is one of the conclusions of the monitoring report on the implementation of the document, launched by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) in early July 2025.

The monitoring reveals that, in the absence of a consolidated institutional process, the sustainability and feasibility of the document could be compromised, especially in the context of potential post-election changes in the composition of ministries after this year’s parliamentary elections.

At the same time, the report shows that the state institutions involved in the implementation of the Plan face a shortage of human resources, which affects the effective takeover of coordination responsibilities. In some cases, this shortage is aggravated by a lack of expertise in the field of MIL within the existing teams.

The interministerial plan was developed by the IJC with the intention of taking a first step towards a public policy in the field of Information and Media Literacy. “Initially, we wanted a public policy in the field of Media and Information Literacy. However, we managed to take a first step in this direction. Exactly one year ago, two ministries approved the plan by order. The Independent Journalism Center was tasked with monitoring the extent to which the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Culture have fulfilled their commitments,” said Anastasia Nani, deputy director of the IJC, during a public discussion with representatives of the MEC, MC, institutions subordinate to the two ministries, and experts.

The report recommends, among other things, that the state institutions involved take on and actively fulfill their role as coordinators and promoters of the Plan to ensure its sustainable implementation and gradually reduce the CJI’s involvement in promoting and monitoring it.

Furthermore, as responsible institutions, the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Culture should strengthen the processes of coordination, communication, promotion, and monitoring of the Plan’s implementation. According to the report, this can be achieved by organizing regular working meetings, preparing information notes, and creating an inter-institutional consortium or working group to facilitate the regular exchange of information on progress, obstacles encountered, and future actions.

Another recommendation concerns expanding the group of partners, implementers, and funders involved in supporting the Interministerial Plan to ensure diversification of resources and increase the impact of the actions taken.

“We don’t know what will happen after the parliamentary elections this fall, but we would like this plan not to disappear. One of the recommendations would be to assume and fulfill the role of coordinators, because we still feel that the IJC is the driving force behind promoting, monitoring, and discussing this document,” said Angela Vacaru, the researcher who, together with the IJC, developed the Interministerial Plan and the monitoring report.

In May 2023, the IJC presented the draft National Information and Media Literacy Program, which proposed a roadmap with priority actions that the Republic of Moldova should undertake in the field of MIL and digital literacy. Following consultations with representatives of the Ministry of Education and Research, it was proposed to restructure this program into an interministerial plan, under the coordination of the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Culture, with the support of implementation partners from relevant state institutions and civil society organizations.

The interministerial plan was developed based on an analysis of relevant MIL documents, national and international policies and legislation, as well as consultations with representatives of civil society, academia, the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the Audiovisual Council, and the Center for Strategic Communication and Combating Disinformation.

The monitoring report on implementing the Interministerial Plan on Media and Information Literacy was developed within the project “Advancing Media and Information Literacy in Moldova”, implemented by the Independent Journalism Center with the support of IMS.