The global event themed "Nurturing Trust: A Media and Information Literacy Imperative" is being held in Nigeria from 24 to 31 October in Abuja.

The Nigerian government on Monday flagged off the Global Media and Information Literacy week.

At the opening ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria's Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, welcomed participants and declared open the parallel sessions.

The global event themed "Nurturing Trust: A Media and Information Literacy Imperative" is being held in Nigeria from 24 to 31 October in Abuja.

In his remarks, Mr Mohammed noted that the theme of this year's event is apt and timely as the world and its leaders contend with the challenge of identifying what is true and what is false in media content.

"As I ponder on the state of our world, the enormous challenge it faces, especially with unregulated use of social media and other digital platforms, I see the urgent need for every person to be equipped with the ability to critically evaluate and wisely use information at their disposal," he said.

He expressed optimism about the outcomes of the week-long event which will be geared towards building trust among societies and individuals through the use of media and Information literacy.

Speaking about the importance of the MIL week, the Assistant Director-General of Communication and Information at UNESCO, Tawfik Jelassi, said "we do not want the new digital pipeline to be harmful for societies; we need to ensure that digital technology is used for public good."

He noted that it is important to make citizens media and information literate in order for them to succeed in the digital age.

This is important as digital platforms have become citizens' primary sources of information.

Both producers and consumers of information need to become media and information literate in order to sift the information they consume, Mr Jelassi said.

Later today, there will be an opening session at the Presidential Banquet Hall.