Abstract:
A clear line of argument can be set out to link the (passive) intellectual freedom rights
offered by Article Nineteen of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration on Human
Rights, to a consequent responsibility on governments, professionals and civil
society activists for the (active) creation of suitable conditions for the effective
exercise of intellectual freedom. Commentators on media in society and socially
responsible computing are also increasingly drawing conclusions of this kind and
stressing the importance of Media Literacy and Computer Literacy. This line of
argument naturally directs attention towards the rationale currently offered for
Information Literacy as a focus of professional activity. Whilst there are many
elaborately worked-out programmes for Information Literacy instruction, these
have so far been largely derived from practical perceptions of need. However, broad
statements such as the Prague Declaration ‘Towards an Information Literate Society’
of 2003 and the Alexandria Proclamation of 2005 can be seen as beginning to point
towards a rationale for Information Literacy activities rooted in human rights, Article
Nineteen in particular. The contention is that starting from a human rights perspective
leads towards a strong, inclusive interpretation of Information Literacy. This
subsumes Media Literacy, Computer Literacy, Web Literacy and, to a considerable
extent, Civic Literacy into a model that serves human needs rather than the
established priorities of information professionals. The value of this approach for both
practice and research is stressed.
