For the public
Open workshops, lectures and bilingual open classes; training for teachers and journalists that strengthens everyday MIL skills.
Global MIL Week 2026 · Feature Activity
Building media & information literacy across the China–ASEAN region.
China–ASEAN Media and Information Literacy Capacity Building Action
A sustained, city-rotating regional activity that helps people access trustworthy information, evaluate what they see, engage responsibly and create credible media — for the public, young people and enterprises.
An activity organised by the International Communication Organization (ICO) on the occasion of UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy Week 2026.
A rotating regional platform
2026 →
Inaugural in Nanning and Ha Long, then a new city in China or an ASEAN Member State every year.
About the action
The lasting answer to information disorder is building people’s capabilities.
The China–ASEAN region is one of the most connected and dynamic in the world — linked by trade, travel and a shared digital conversation, yet also exposed, together, to misinformation, AI-generated false content and deepfakes. No border keeps a false story out, and no regulator can fact-check every feed. The lasting answer is capacity building: not controlling content, but building the competencies of people — to access information, evaluate it critically, engage responsibly and create credible media. That is the work of media and information literacy (MIL).
CAMIL is organised as one of the feature activities in the global celebrations of UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy Week 2026 (24–31 October), held under the global theme “We All Play a Part – Media and Information Literacy for the People.” The theme states the belief CAMIL is built on: an informed information environment is not the responsibility of governments or platforms alone — teachers, journalists, young people, enterprises and citizens each have a part to play. CAMIL turns that belief into regional capacity: it trains trainers, teachers and journalists; runs open workshops, lectures and bilingual open classes; builds a China–ASEAN youth MIL action team and youth press corps; develops open educational resources anyone can reuse; and convenes enterprise dialogue on credible cross-border communication — so that MIL is taught, practised and passed on, not merely advocated.
Convened by the International Communication Organization (ICO), the action is sustained and regional by design. Each year it comes to one city in China or an ASEAN Member State during Global MIL Week, beginning with Nanning and Ha Long from 24 to 28 October 2026. Every edition leaves behind trained people, reusable curricula and a growing regional community of MIL practitioners.
For enterprises
Dialogues on trustworthy communication and product credibility, supporting quality brands across the China–ASEAN market.
For young people
A China–ASEAN Youth MIL Action Team, youth press corps and co-creation — the next generation of credible storytellers.
What is MIL
Media and information literacy, in four competencies.
Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is the set of competencies to access, retrieve, understand, evaluate, use, create and share information and media content ethically and effectively. In an era of misinformation, AI-generated false content and deepfakes, it is an essential life skill — and the framework CAMIL is built on.
Access
Find and reach reliable, diverse information amid an overload of sources.
Evaluate
Judge sources and content critically; spot disinformation and manipulated media.
Engage
Take part in public dialogue as responsible, rights-aware digital citizens.
Create
Produce accurate, ethical and credible media that others can rely on.
The global moment
UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy Week.
Global MIL Week is the leading global occasion for media and information literacy, uniting governments, organisations, educators, youth and platforms. Rather than a single conference, it works as a worldwide calendar: organisations everywhere register and run their own feature activities — workshops, roundtables, lectures, community actions — under a shared annual theme.
In 2026, Global MIL Week takes place from 24 to 31 October under the theme “We All Play a Part – Media and Information Literacy for the People.” Beyond the flagship events, partners around the world organise and register their own events as part of the global celebrations; CAMIL is one such regional event.
2026 theme
“We All Play a Part –
MIL for the People”
24–31 October 2026 · A participatory, decentralised global week — CAMIL contributes the China–ASEAN regional chapter.
Echoing the 2026 theme
“We All Play a Part” — and everyone in CAMIL has a part to play.
The public
Open MIL workshops, lectures and bilingual classes put literacy directly in people’s hands.
Young people
A regional Youth MIL Action Team, press corps and co-creation let youth lead, not just listen.
Educators & journalists
Train-the-trainer sessions and a shared toolkit turn one workshop into lasting local capacity.
Enterprises
Cross-border dialogues on digital trust bring the private sector into the public-interest effort.
Regional partners
Universities, media bodies and civil-society groups co-host each rotating edition.
Why China–ASEAN
A shared region, a shared information environment.
China and ASEAN are comprehensive strategic partners bound by dense trade, travel and digital connections. Messages, media and products cross their borders every day — so does disinformation. Regional agendas now name media literacy and information integrity as shared priorities, giving a civil-society action a clear place to stand.
China–ASEAN
Capacity building in the Plan of Action
The Plan of Action to Implement the China–ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2026–2030) calls, in its media section, for strengthening media education, literacy and training for media practitioners through exchanges and capacity building, and for improving the ability to address disinformation.
ASEAN
Information integrity as a strategic goal
The ASEAN Work Plan on Information and Media 2026–2035 sets Information Integrity as a strategic goal, to be advanced through capacity development, and identifies the region’s persistent literacy deficit as a fundamental driver of disinformation. The 2025 Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the safe and responsible use of social media likewise calls for empowering citizens with MIL.
Our niche
The public and enterprise side of regional cooperation
Official mechanisms connect institutions and governments; large public programmes provide general literacy. CAMIL works where the two meet daily life — hands-on MIL for the public and youth, trustworthy communication for enterprises, delivered city by city across the region.
Purpose · Mission · Vision
Why CAMIL exists, and what it is building towards.
Purpose
Make MIL learnable and usable
To make media and information literacy learnable, usable and verifiable for everyone across the China–ASEAN region, and to strengthen a trustworthy information environment.
Mission
One city, one edition, every year
Each year, bring public-interest MIL to one city in China or an ASEAN Member State through workshops, training, dialogues, lectures and open educational resources — reaching the public, young people, educators, media and enterprises.
Vision
Critical minds, credible information
A China–ASEAN region where people think critically, information flows with credibility, and trust grows across borders.
Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
CAMIL advances the 2030 Agenda through MIL capacity building, with a direct contribution to three Goals.
SDG4
Quality Education
Inclusive MIL education, training and lifelong learning for all ages.
SDG16
Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
Public access to information and information integrity, countering disinformation.
SDG17
Partnerships for the Goals
Multi-stakeholder, cross-border cooperation among civil society, educators, media and enterprises.
What the action does
Programme formats, outputs and plans.
Every edition combines familiar, high-quality exchange formats with the character of its host city. Detailed schedules are published with each edition; the action is built around a stable set of formats, outputs and long-term plans.
Programme formats
Forums & keynote dialogues
High-level openings and keynote conversations.
Seminars & workshops
Hands-on sessions by the four MIL competencies.
Roundtables
Facilitated discussions among media, platforms and enterprises.
Lectures & open classes
Public MIL lectures and bilingual open classes.
Showcases & exhibitions
Youth works, credible-media practices and tool showcases.
Dialogues & exchanges
Dinner and cruise-luncheon conversations in friendly settings.
Study visits
Professional, industry and cultural-heritage visits.
Youth co-creation
Youth action teams, press corps and short-video creation.
Key outputs
- 01A regional initiativeA multi-party China–ASEAN Initiative on Information Credibility, renewed each year.
- 02A bilingual MIL toolkitA China–ASEAN MIL educational resource kit in English and Chinese, issued in annual editions.
- 03A Youth MIL Action TeamA regional youth network launched, trained and flagged at each edition.
- 04An annual outcomes reportA public record of results, commitments and the handover to the next host city.
Long-term plans
- →Annual rotationEach year, one host city in China or an ASEAN Member State during Global MIL Week.
- →Permanent standardsBrand, curriculum standards, certification and resource library held by ICO; each city adds local co-creation.
- →Regional collaborationGradual cooperation with regional foundations, universities, media bodies and civil-society networks on courses, research and youth programmes.
Inaugural edition · 2026
The first edition: Nanning & Ha Long.
Inaugural theme
Credible Information across Borders
Echoing the global theme “We All Play a Part – MIL for the People.”
Dates
24–28 Oct 2026
During Global MIL Week 2026
Sites
Nanning, China + Ha Long, Viet Nam
The two sites lie across the China–ASEAN land border, in Guangxi (China) and Quang Ninh (Viet Nam).
Setting
Dialogue, not a formal conference
Opening gathering, welcome dinner, a Ha Long Bay cruise-luncheon dialogue, workshops, roundtables, showcase, study visit and youth co-creation
Launched at the inaugural edition
China–ASEAN Initiative on Information Credibility (Ha Long 2026)
A shared commitment by media, educators, platforms, civil society and enterprises to advance MIL and trustworthy information across the region.
Global Joint Initiative on Digital Trust and Product Traceability in Cross-border E-commerce
Launched by the first group of Chinese and Vietnamese enterprises, turning information credibility into tangible, trustworthy cross-border cooperation.
China–ASEAN Youth MIL Action Team & Youth Call to Action
The founding regional youth team, with a youth call to action for credible media and responsible participation.
Built to last
A new host city every year.
2026
Inauguration
Nanning, China + Ha Long, Viet Nam
Launch the brand and the inaugural initiatives, establish the cross-border friendly-dialogue model, release toolkit 1.0.
2027
Regional benchmark
Singapore or Kuala Lumpur
Information integrity, platform responsibility, and governance of AI and deepfakes, with regional institutional partners.
2028
A mature rotation
Bangkok or the Greater Bay Area
Youth MIL and trusted cross-border e-commerce under a stable “host bid + ICO standards” rotation mechanism.
Take part
Join the action.
Public MIL workshops, lectures and open classes are open and free; selected public sessions are also streamed online across the region. Participation in the Nanning–Ha Long programme is by invitation, coordinated with partners; regional organisations, educators, media, youth and enterprises are welcome to collaborate.
Educators & journalists
Lead or join workshops, training and the bilingual toolkit.
Young people
Apply for the Youth MIL Action Team, press corps and co-creation.
Enterprises
Join roundtables on trustworthy communication and credible products.
Regional partners
Universities, associations and civil-society groups can co-host future editions.
Express interest or propose a partnership
ICO will open invitations and publish the public programme schedule in October 2026.
Contact — ICO
info@icoun.org
Organiser
International Communication Organization
The International Communication Organization (ICO) is a non-profit international non-governmental organisation registered in the United States, dedicated to advancing global cooperation in media development, digital governance and cultural exchange. Through engagement with the United Nations system — including the UNESCO MIL Alliance — and a worldwide network of media and institutional partners, ICO works to strengthen information integrity, advance digital rights and preserve cultural heritage. ICO is the initiator and permanent convener of CAMIL; each edition is delivered together with local co-organising partners in the host city. icoun.org
Global MIL Week 2026 brings together regional and thematic events organised by UNESCO offices and partners across the world. CAMIL is one of the partner events in these global celebrations, held during the Week in response to its 2026 theme.