Media competence as a strategy for inserting sustainable development goals in organizations

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) occupy more and more space in organizations' speeches, but their inclusion in the business strategy depends on the creation, or the strengthening, of organizational cultures capable of supporting their execution. Sustainability represents a paradigm change that requires new thoughts and behaviors and it is essential to consider the role of organizations in building new practices that meet society's demands in face of the worsening of global environmental issues. We understand that in order to create cultures of sustainability it is essential to involve the internal public, especially when we consider the implementation of broader strategies, as is the case of the SDGs in the organizational context. Internal communication plays an important role in the processes of cultural change and also has an educational role, especially when we consider digital environments whose impacts are increasingly present in the routine, processes, dynamics and cultures of organizations. Thinking about communication in this context requires considering technological changes and the impacts that the digital environment imposes on communicative and educational processes. Communication acceleration and the centrality of digital networks in a connected society alter not only social relations, but also those with knowledge, expand learning possibilities and reinforce the importance of developing the necessary skills for critical thinking, citizenship and learning throughout life. This article aims to present results of theoretical-empirical research, articulated from an exploratory perspective, which had as its methodological strategy the single case study incorporated with multiple units of analysis. This is a master's level research and in this article we present part of the results that refer to the articulation between media competence and sustainability. The organization chosen for the research is a large company in the services sector that has been on the financial market for over twenty years and works intensively with information and communication. The survey was disseminated through the organization's internal communication channels and 223 people voluntarily participated. For data gathering, an online questionnaire was used, which served not only as an instrument for that purpose, but also as an educational proposal based on the articulation of skills, aiming to raise awareness among the internal public about the SDGs. Dimensions and indicators of media competence (Ferrés & Piscitelli, 2015), competences for sustainability (Unesco, 2017) and their interrelationship with information and media competence indicators (Belluzzo, 2018) were chosen, associated with SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production (Un, 2015). Based on this direction, videos and images associated with SDG 12 were selected and the questions were prepared based on the different indicators of media competence in order to understand the participants' perception of the content from the perspective of reception, appropriation, use and sharing of messages. The research results suggest that the educational proposal developed represents a relevant methodology for training the internal public, as it enables the articulation of different themes of interest to organizations, constituting a proposal that can promote awareness, learning and cultural change, the insertion of the SDGs in the organizational environment in addition to contributing to corporate educational programs. By associating media competence and sustainability to develop educational proposals for the internal public, it is expected to contribute not only to the elucidation of themes related to the SDGs, but above all to favor the critical understanding of informational and symbolic content and stimulate new thoughts and behaviors that go beyond the context of the organization to reflect on the individual's daily experience.