Nearly 30 bloggers, webmasters and online journalists are back to work with new appreciation for their role in promoting a culture of peace. The bloggers, who came together at the "New Arab Media Summit for Peace and Dialogue" held at Al-Ahliyya University (Amman, 8-10 February 2010), hailed from five countries in the region that have been impacted both directly and indirectly by conflict
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The New Arab Media Summit for Peace and Dialogue was organized by UNESCO Center of Catalonia’s (UNESCOCAT) Department of Audiovisuals, in partnership with the UNESCO Office for Iraq. The summit represented the first meeting of new media professionals from the Arab Region with the aim to strengthen their capacity in fostering mutual understanding, peace and reconciliation, in addition, to providing a platform for cross-border cooperation over common issues.
The Summit’s participants were the main contributors; leading discussions, identifying challenges, and seeking solutions, while supported by a host of experts, including lead trainer Ramsey Tesdell from the Amman-based 7iber.com. "New media can be a powerful tool for citizens around the world to begin a discussion about the important issues in their lives,” said Tesdell.
With new media professionals from Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the debates were lively and spirited. There was general consensus from the participants that the one challenge they all shared was the lack of freedom of expression. This was the result of ownership bias, self censorship, outright legal barriers and threats from authorities as well as parallel powers (armed groups operating outside the law). “This has been a unique and pioneering experience in the Arab region, an enriching occasion to exchange experiences and to analyze how media can act together in such fragmented and diverse areas,” said Rut G. Sobrino, project officer in charge of the Summit.
Discussions did not only tackle internal threats to local media and new media but also the negative image of events found in the foreign press. “The Iraq drawn by the international press and the Iraq described by the local media professionals are two different countries,” said a participant from Baghdad.
Whether a blogger operating from a bedroom or the chief editor of an established media house, all expressed concern for their safety, and shared numerous stories of harassment or worse. Mr Zuhair Al-Jezairy, Director of Aswat al Iraq (Voices of Iraq) - the independent online news agency - told the story of one of his reporters killed within a few hundred meters of a checkpoint. “She was gunned down,” he told the spellbound group, “one of more than 300 media professionals who have been killed in Iraq since the war in 2003.”
A 21-year old Iraqi blogger brought the room to tears as he read from a blog post, the story of a young Iraqi woman who survived a car bomb attack at her university, but lost two of her friends, cradling one as she died in her arms. She has since gone on to help women in Iraq realize their rights.
Moreover, the delegations agreed that one of the most serious problems facing media professionals is the lack of independence and freedom of speech. Form the online perspective, a Lebanese journalist, said that “there is independent journalism but no independent media in Lebanon since most radios, TVs and newspapers are affiliated to political parties.”
Despite the challenges, the participants were enthusiastic about the space they were creating for people to express themselves freely, giving voice to the voiceless and introducing new vigor to the debate about issues, including those that threaten their independence. The internet has expanded the ways and means in which people are sharing information, and the participants spoke of their use of social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook, among others. While the possibilities are widening, they agreed they need more knowledge of how to manage information through virtual networks. The potential of ICTs in decreasing the cost of audiovisual production was also tackled in the debates.
However, not all countries face the same problems. Those from Lebanon raised the matter of the language used for communication and information as an important issue they face. A participant from Beirut noted with great concern that with language come values, a reference to the prevalence of English on the web. The Iraqi participants explained that the low number of internet users in their country was due to the lack of infrastructure, among other factors. In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the challenge is the new media brain drain, a consequence of the conflict region.
Find out more about the Arab New Media Summit and upcoming events such as the release of a guide on best practices and the creation of a network of media professionals on peace, dialogue and conflict prevention, please consult the below links:
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