Considering media literacy from intercultural perspective, the authors describe its role in the world where the notion of the uniqueness of each civilization as an isolated, self sufficient entity is no longer valid: Humanity must force the media system as a whole to shoulder the obligation to stimulate this intense intercultural relation that the global world demands of us. We must force it to act as an interpreter and translator — cultural translation – among all of humanity’s diverse codes: between our codes and the codes of the Other.
In other words, the goal is to align the entire media system with the obligation to make a systematic effort at mutual understanding among all the collectives, peoples, societies and communities in this global world. On the basis of the analysis of the recent UNESCO, EC and other initiatives in media literacy, Varis and Pérez Tornero formulated basic principles of an agenda intended to strengthen the contribution of media literacy to intercultural dialogue.
