The COVID-19 pandemic has created unforeseen challenges in India’s educational landscape. Schools and colleges have switched to remote learning and started online classes and exams. The pattern of education has changed overnight, and digital learning has emerged as the primary alternative. This sudden switch and overdependence on technology has come with its fair share of constraints.

Amidst this transition, the Ministry of Education has launched the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020. The policy proposes several measures for promoting digital learning, skill development and enhancing infrastructure requirements. However, given the socio-economic and regional diversity of India, there exist multiple roadblocks to accessibility and the ability of widespread adoption of online teaching and learning In the backdrop of NEP-2020, the Organising Committee of National Media Conclave (NMC) has decided to deliberate on issues relating to media and digital literacy with focus on media education and skill development. The three-day 5th NMC-2021 aims to outline how skills and competencies for digital literacy and media literacy intersect and provide us with essential skills for playing, learning and working as citizens of the digital world.

With the advent of digital technologies, awareness of media is acquiring crucial importance. Media literacy, information literacy and digital literacy are the three most prevailing concepts that focus on a critical approach towards media messages. The conclave will provide an overview of the nature of these literacies and various contexts of their functioning. It will attempt to draw the blurring line between media consumers and producers.

Hence, we would like to invite you to join the mega event to be held from November 21 to 23. The broad theme of the summit is “NEP 2020: Media and Digital Technology”. DATE: November 21-23, 2021 THEME: NEP 2020: Media and Digital Technology Education is on the concurrent list of the Constitution. All states, therefore, have an equal say on the subject. A cooperative and collaborative spirit will thus be critical to realise the goals. The Centre has a task well cut for building consensus on NEP-2020 to ensure its effective implementation. Notwithstanding the challenges, the Centre’s policy push, states’ support, corporate commitments and value addition by other stakeholders can surely usher in a major transformation in the sector. The domain of education in the country has lit up. And this augers well not only for the sector, but also for the 21st century aspirational India.

We, as a nation, can pay true tribute to the memory of Gandhiji, Maulana Azad and other eminent leaders only if we recognise the importance of education in nation-building and evolve policies and programmes to achieve that objective. Former Minister of Education Maulana Azad once said, “I don’t mind if young minds of our country going abroad for higher education but I want that educational institutions of our country should be of that standard so that foreign students should also get education here as was the case during the time of Takshshila and Nalanda”. In this regard, we invite you to participate as a delegate and also present a paper on any sub-theme. Please note that all full papers received within November 10, 2021, subject to approval by the editorial board, shall be published in the form of e-journal as part of the conference proceedings.

The fifth edition of NMC being organised by the Institute of Media Studies (IMS) under Utkal University endeavours to bring faculties, research scholars and practicing media executives, developmental programme managers, policy makers and people’s representatives together to share their ideas, research findings and discuss the implications of NEP-2020 in media education and promotion of digital technology. We look forward to meeting you at the conference.