Workshop Archives

Ecology and Climate Journalism Workshop by Atölye BİA

taherinima on 2. December 2024

The workshop, held on Nov 4-5, covered the foundational principles and scope of climate and ecology reporting.

With support from Oslo Metropolitan University, the IPS Communication Foundation/bianet recently the Environmental Journalism and Reporting Workshop on Nov 4-5 as part of its Environmental Journalism Training and Reporting Program.

The two-day online workshop, titled “Ecology and Climate Reporting,” was coordinated by Green Gazette Editor-in-Chief Alev Karakartal, who was also an instructor. The workshop featured presentations from Doğu Eroğlu (ortak.org), Selin Uğurtaş (Climate Desk), and Dr. Ümit Şahin (Istanbul Policy Center).

The majority of participants were freelance journalists producing reports in ecology and climate from Artvin, Bursa, Çanakkale, Dersim, Hatay, İstanbul, Muğla, and Zonguldak.

Rights-based climate and ecology reporting

On the first day, Alev Karakartal presented on “Intersecting/Diverging Points and New Concepts in Climate and Ecology Reporting,” emphasizing the need for a rights-based approach to climate and ecology journalism and the importance of using accessible language for the public.

In the second session, Doğu Eroğlu discussed the principles, methods, and tools for crafting effective climate and ecology stories. He highlighted the importance of technical knowledge in a journalist’s field and the ways climate change is conveyed in daily life.

On day two, Selin Uğurtaş addressed identifying and verifying misinformation and “greenwashing” in climate reporting. She examined the evolution of climate denial over time and provided examples of greenwashing as a misleading information type.

In the workshop’s final session, Dr. Ümit Şahin’s presentation, “Where Are We in the Climate Crisis?” offered data and discussions on the climate crisis based on recent academic sources and reports.

After the training, the participants will publish their own articles on various climate issues.

The 2024 cooperation between JMIC/OsloMet and Bianet focus on climate journalism and media monitoring.

35 Ugandan journalism students receive training in Access to Information

taherinima on 25. September 2024

By Gerald Walulya, JMIC coordinator – Uganda

The Journalism & Media International Center in conjunction with the Department of
Journalism and Communication, Makerere University, Uganda have conducted a four-day
workshop on Access to Information.

35 students took part in four intense days of learning the skills of getting information for their journalistic stories. Here participants with main trainer Tarjei Leer-Salvesen and speakers Charity Komujjurizi from African Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC) and Guy Berger, former head for freedom of expression and media development in UNESCO. Photo: Gerald Walulya

The workshop was attended by 35 final year journalism students from Makerere University, Uganda. The training that started on Monday, 16 th September was concluded on 19th September, 2024.

The main facilitator of the workshop was Tarjei Leer-Salvesen, a Norwegian freelance journalist. He trained participants to understand how different national ATI laws work, and how their differences can be used to a journalist’s advantage. Using examples of his own experience, Leer-Salvesen also took participants through the different digital tools that can be used in accessing information.

Other facilitators included, Dr. Ivan Lukanda from the Department of Journalism and Communication, Edrine Wanyama from Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) and Charity Komujjurizi, Programme Manager, African Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC).

The course provides theoretical, legal and practical training in how journalists can gain access to information, and participants submit their own access requests. Photo: Gerald Walulya.

The trainers enlighten participants on how Uganda’s ATI law works and took them through practical steps of applying for information access in Uganda. The training culminated into filing of information requests by participants.

The workshop was also graced by Prof. Guy Berger, the former UNESCO Director for Policies and Strategies regarding Communication and Information who shared with participants an important background on Access to Information struggles in Africa. Prof. Berger was in Uganda to deliver a lecture on the link between African journalism, big tech, elections and data.

Nakyanzi Eve, one of the participants, commended JMIC for supporting the workshop and the trainers for the new knowledge they gave participants during the training. She said that the acquired knowledge had gone a long way in preparing them for a career in journalism. This was the fifth training in Access to Information that JMIC has supported at Makerere University. A total of 213 journalism students have befitted from such trainings in the last five years.

A step forward by safety training in Amman

taherinima on 14. September 2024

Take a step forward if you use the same password on several accounts! Another step forward if you do not change password once a Month, said Abeer Saady, a recognized international safety trainer affiliated with Journalism & Media International Centre (JMIC).

By: Elisabeth Salvesen

In the very beginning of September 2024, An-Najah University in Nablus together with JMIC at Oslo Met, arranged four days of safety training for Palestinian journalists in Amman, Jordan. Ten women and 4 men participated, all around 20 years old, and soon finishing last year of their journalism- and media education. Most of them also work in Palestinian media based on the West Bank. They live and work in the cities that are in the news just now because of the very difficult security situation; Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm and Qalqiliya, among others.

Most dangerous country

Palestine has become the world’s most dangerous country for journalists. In Gaza, more than 116 journalists have been killed since 7 October, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Quoting from the 2023 annual country report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), “In the West Bank, journalists are the victims of press freedom violations by both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli occupation forces.” According to RSF, Israeli pressure has intensified since 7 October, with an increase in arrests of reporters and obstructions to their work.

Comprehensive safety training

The safety training in Amman was a comprehensive course including physical, psychological and digital safety. It included risk assessment in hostile environments, checkpoints, caught in the crossfire, arrests, teargas, surveillance and counter-surveillance techniques. Crowd management, demonstrations and first-aid were also components. So were ethical dilemmas; are you a journalist or an activist? How to deal with children in warzones and catastrophes? Dignity and privacy of victims and victims’ families. To publish or not to publish? The journalist students eagerly discussed with the safety trainer and each other. Practical exercises were an integrated part of the training like for example Grab the Bag exercise. Saady repeated the importance of always having a bag ready and what to include in it. Do and don’t at checkpoints were played as a practical exercise. Some of the students played security forces/police and others were journalists on their way to work. The scenario was very close to their daily life experiences in the West Bank, and many had difficult experiences.

Digital safety

We are journalists, not suiciders, stressed the safety trainer. Identifying risk was a main part of the training. What are your main challenges working as journalists in the West Bank?

Restrictions on movement, attacks, arrests, killings, threats, smear campaigns or harassment at checkpoints like having to undress, listed the journalist students.
And to have your iphone confiscated, hacked or your sources stolen. An expert on digital safety gave a lesson on how to reduce your vulnerability; remember that iphones easily can be tracked, keep in continuously contact with a friend or colleague, change your daily route to work often and change other routines when possible. And be aware of drones.
How safe is your password? the expert asked. Check it on passwordmonster.com and probably you will be shocked and change it immediately.

First aid

First aid assessments were also a part of the training, and the main introduction was held by a medical doctor usually working in Gaza. Very soon he would be on his way back again to Gaza. Most of the young students had got some basic first aid training by the Red Cross. They now learned about using a tourniquet to stop bleeding, how to stabilize the neck and how to move a seriously wounded person. One journalist suddenly started crying and told of her own traumatizing experience working with a journalist team in the West Bank when someone started shooting at them. The next day, probably working all through the night, the safety trainer Saady had found a video of just that situation. Flashbacks are not unusual, and it is quite all right to cry and share your experiences with colleagues, the journalists learned. Debriefing of traumas is important when working in hostile environments. All participants discussed the video and comforted the crying journalist. Another participant had been shot in her leg, and the journalists discussed with the first aid trainer risk scenarios if shot in a leg, an arm or the stomach.

Realistic

The safety training was very realistic. When finished, most of the journalist students travelled back home from Jordan to the West Bank. Two days later, there was shooting at the crossing point from Jordan to the West Bank. This time three Israeli men were killed.

Staying safe is key to telling the next story

taherinima on 4. April 2024

^{By Gerald Walulya, JMIC coordinator – Uganda werald@gmail.com}

Ugandan journalism students trained in safety and security.

Department of Journalism and Communication, Makerere University, Uganda, in cooperation with JMIC, conducted a four-day workshop on safety and security of journalists 25 -28 March, 2024. 66 final year journalism students attended this this edition of the yearly training program supported by JMIC.

Journalists in Uganda face serious safety threats that range from intimidation, physical and psychosocial harassment, arrest and detention on nearly a daily basis. Journalists are regularly targeted by state actors such as the military and the police, and non-state actors such as mobs, politicians and powerful business people who feel threatened by the journalists’ critical reporting. A 2022 report (Press Freedom Index -2022 Uncertain Future for the Media – HUMAN RIGTS NETWORK FOR JOURNALISTS-UGANDA) by a Uganda civil society organisation, Human Rights Network for Journalists, reported that there were 94 cases of human rights violations and abuses against journalists and media practitioners. A recent study (Full article: “I thought You Are Beautiful”: Uganda Women Journalists’ Tales of Mob Violence on Social Media) has also reported surging cases of online harassment of female journalists in Uganda.

The workshop was facilitated by local and international facilitators. Local facilitators included, Dr. Sara Namusoga, a Lecturer at the Department of Journalism and Communication, Culton Scovia Nakamya, a local Television journalist and Mr. Abubaker Lubowa, a photojournalist with Reuters and Nation Media Group and one of the pioneer trainees of the inaugural JMIC safety training in 2017. The local trainers were supported by Abeer Saady, a recognised international safety trainer affiliated with Journalism & Media International Centre.

The workshop covered topics such as online hygiene for journalists, a holistic approach to safety, risk management and safety planning while working in a hostile environment. Local trainers shared experiences of attacks on journalists. They advised participants to always stay in contact with their colleagues and supervisors while reporting in unsafe areas.

The lead trainer Abeer Saady said although the training was attended by many participants, it was very engaging. “The participants were very enthusiastic. The number was big, which was a challenge, but I tried my best to make it interactive. I give exercises so that I don’t only show them, but make them do. The mixture with local trainers was good, because local trainers brought context to the training. A majority of the participants were female, and an important aspect of the training was to speak about gender, and gender specific attacks.”

Participants noted that the training equipped them with the knowledge they require to stay safe while reporting.

QUOTES:

“I found the training extremely valuable. It provided critical insights into the challenges faced by journalists today and offered practical solutions for mitigating risks. The discussions on online and offline security by Culton Scovia were particularly enlightening, and I believe they are so essential for a budding journalist like me.” Kevin Mugabi, participant.

The workshop “was an invaluable experience, offering a comprehensive dive into crucial aspects of journalism. From digital security measures to safeguarding our equipment to navigating the ethical minefield of reporting in conflict zones. Every session was packed with practical insights. Learning how to conduct sensitive interviews with survivors and victims without causing undue emotional distress was particularly enlightening. The facilitator’s engaging approach, using real-life scenarios to drive home key points, made the entire experience dynamic and memorable.” Maxline Kansabe, participant.

JMIC trains 45 Ugandan journalism students in safety and security – Unsafe journalists cannot tell good stories.

taherinima on 17. April 2023

By Gerald Walulya, JMIC coordinator – Uganda

Digital and physical security was put on the agenda when 45 final year journalism students and early career journalists participated in safety training in Uganda in early April.

Department of Journalism and Communication, Makerere University, Uganda, in cooperation with JMIC, conducted a four-day workshop on safety and security of journalists 3 rd- to 6 th April, 2023.

While speaking at the beginning of the training, Dr. Nakiwala Aisha Sembatya, the Head of Department of Journalism and Communication highlighted the importance of the workshop noting that such training is crucial for young journalists, because it enables them to know what to do when they are faced with safety and security threats. She commended JMIC for its continued support towards the Department that has enabled them to prepare their students well.

Journalists in Uganda face serious threats that range from intimidation, physical and psychosocial harassment, arrest and detention on a nearly daily basis. Journalists are regularly targeted by state actors such as security services, who include the army and the police and non-state actors such as mobs, politicians and powerful business people whose enterprises may be threatened by the journalists’ critical reporting.

The workshop was facilitated by local and international facilitators. Local facilitators included, Dr. Sara Namusoga, a Lecturer at the Department of Journalism and Communication, Culton Scovia Nakamya, a local Television journalist and Dr. Aisha Nakiwala. The local trainers were supported by Abeer Saady, a recognised safety trainer associated with Journalism & Media International Center.

Dr. Sara Namusoga told participants that journalists should be aware of their safety digitally and physically, because unsafe journalists cannot tell good stories.

Namusoga advised participants to always backup their data, avoid opening emails from untrusted sources, distancing themselves from usage of public Wi-Fi, noting that doing so exposes their accounts to hackers.

Abeer Saady took participants through a number of issues related to safety and security including, risk management and safety planning while working in hostile environments, situational awareness and ethical dilemmas related to safety and security.

Dorcus Nzayisenga, one of the participants applauded the trainers for making the sessions engaging. “The sessions were very educative and above all interactive which gives us students a chance to express our views. The facilitators were audible and made use of their personal experience, for proper understanding.”

Another participant, Moreen Atwiine said that she has learnt a lot from the training. “As a journalist l have become more aware about the threats l can face while doing my work and also the mechanisms to manage these threats.” She pledged to share the knowledge she has
acquired with fellow journalists. “ I will educate fellow journalist who didn’t get the chance to attend the workshop about their safety. I will also start practicing the tips about my safety and security as a journalist that I have learnt.”

Ensuring physical and mental safety: Training workshop on Safety of Journalists in Pakistan

taherinima on 28. March 2023

By: Altaf Khan

Recent tragic violence in Pakistan, including the bomb blast in a Peshawar mosque earlier this year, underscore the importance of safety training for Pakistani journalists and journalism students. Violent conflict few kilometers from the training site in the city of Lahore, also made this a strategic and practical exercise for organizers as well as the participants.

Group photo of all the participants of the workshop on Day 3.

The yearly journalists’ safety workshop under the title Ensuring physical and mental safety of journalists amid violent events took place at Forman Christian College University, Lahore, Pakistan from March 14 th to 16 th , 2023. The yearly event is a collaboration between JMIC OsloMet and FCCU. Besides the training the workshop also had a book launch on day two. The book launch of Abeer Saady’s book on safety of women journalists took place on March 15 th , 2023, the second day of the workshop. It was the Urdu translation of the IAWRT Safety Handbook for Women Journalists, What If…?, Ms. Sabahat Afsheen is the translator of the handbook.

A total of 36 participants completed the certification, 19 female and 17 male. Four guests from outside Lahore participated in workshop from Islamabad and Peshawar. Three female participants couldn’t join
due to personal reasons. The workshop focused on personal safety of journalists in violent situations.

Participants during a group activity on Day 2.

The workshop was planned within the context of recent tragic violence in Pakistan, especially the bomb blast in a Peshawar mosque in the middle of a highly secure zone in the city. But at the time of workshop the host city, Lahore was in the grip of violent conflict, happening a few kilometers from the workshop venue. This made the whole planning for the days a strategic exercise for organizers as well as the participants. The workshop was successful in many ways. The first and foremost of these is the commitment of the participants who strategically planned their participation on each of the three days.
They reached the venue from different parts of the city and fully participated by sharing their daily experiences of planning and execution of their risk assessments, arrival and departure plans and sharing their perspectives about a developing situation.

They not simply shared the perspectives but also got into role playing, interplaying different roles in the process of reporting on violent events. Both physical and psychological safety were discussed and presented. The book launch on the second day of the workshop very well fit into the whole program. The importance of safety of female journalists amidst the digital media trolling and harassment was a very welcome element of the training.

Abeer Saady while giving a recap of the previously shared content on Day 3.

One big challenge in such events when these happen amid violent outbursts is to get the news regarding the event published in the media. It is not a must, but it is part of the exercise to ensure that a social impact news isn’t lost in politically hostile news cycles. Networking for placement of the proceedings in radio and print (hybrid) media was successfully done. The event got good news coverage. In this manner the information reached a larger audience. Impact multipliers are always important.

The immediate context of this workshop is also a big source of realization of the troubles working journalists go through in their day to day performance. Educators and students need to know the real life, everyday challenges of the profession. During the role plays and presentations each group had at least one member who had firsthand experience of the troubled area on the first evening of the workshop. This is an ideal, laboratory like situation where on the first day one gets a detailed introduction to potentially violent ecosystem. On the same day one visits a controlled scene of such a place and incorporates the experience during the second and the third day.

Participants while presenting their group activity.

The whole workshop and the book launch helped in a deeper understanding of potentially violent situations and the skills to deal with these. It also helped the trainees to a deeper appreciation of
journalistic work. True, the perils of the field can be only understood in the field, but the workshop helped in reaching nearest to understand working in violent ecosystems, a need of the hour in politically volatile and polarized societies and systems of governance.

LHR-Minute-Mirror-PDF-15-03-23-1 Download

Ecology Journalism Project: Meetings with activists and journalists

taherinima on 20. December 2022

By Tuğçe Yılmaz

The “Ecology Journalism Project” has been completed with meetings with ecology groups and local press in Mersin, Fındıklı/Rize and Çanakkale in Turkey run by the IPS Communication Foundation/bianet with the support of JMIC.

As part of the project, a climate journalism workshop and an ecology meeting were held and an ecology article series was published.

The “Ecology Journalism Project” meeting was held in three cities in the regions of Mediterranean, Black Sea and Marmara, where there is intense ecological destruction, as well as struggle.

In the three meetings held for the purpose of strengthening the relationship between ecology organizations and national and local press and the relationship between ecology organizations, the difficulties faced by the organizations and their long-term struggles and how the press should report on ecology were discussed.

Mediterranean Region: Mersin

On October 28, 2022, environmental and civil society organizations conveyed their experiences and struggles at the first “Ecology Journalism Project” meeting. Academics from the city’s university and journalists were also at the meeting. Özer Akdemir, who has been reporting on ecological issues for many years, made a presentation about “What ecology reporting is and how it is done?”

*Özer Akdemir Journalist & local activists Mersin* (Photo: Tuğçe Yılmaz).

Ecology groups in the Mediterranean Region that have been struggling against the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant complained that “their voices are not being heard enough in the national media.” Lawyer Semra Kabasalak from the Eastern Mediterranean Environmental Association said, “We often feel alone in the struggle for the environment, but we want everyone to know that we will continue our struggle until we die.”

Black Sea Region: Rize/Fındıklı

*Local Journalists and activists Rize/Fındıklı* (Photo: Tuğçe Yılmaz).

On November 12, ecology and environmental groups and local journalists in the Black Sea Region attended the “Ecology Journalism Project” meeting. At the meeting, journalist Pelin Cengiz made a presentation about the details of ecology journalism and conveyed the difficulties they faced in reaching the national press.

Nur Neşe Karahan from the Green Artvin Association said, “We have been struggling for 30 years in Artvin to protect our living spaces and make the public hear about our struggle. Yes, the situation is very difficult and we were silenced in this period when we need to speak up the most, but we have to make a choice: We will either stop this destruction or we will be annihilated.”

Marmara Region: Çanakkale

*Özgür Gürbüz Journalist & local activists Çanakkale* (Photo: Tuğçe Yılmaz).

The last meeting of the “Ecology Journalism Project” was held in Çanakkale in Marmara Region. Ecology groups and activists, as well as local journalists, attended the meeting on November 30, 2022. Journalist Özgür Gürbüz gave information about what to consider when reporting on the environment and ecology. Ecology groups that attended the meeting conveyed the problems they faced in communicating with the national press.

Reyhan Erdem from the Kaz Mountain Protection Association said, “We started the struggle in 1997, with the reports that the Çan Thermal Power Plant would be established and set up an environmental platform. In 2007, the second platform was established. However, despite all of our environmental problems, we could not stay together as environmental organizations and environmental committees of mass organizations. I remember the early days when everybody would attend. Now we cannot come together with the same crowd and power.”

Digital Media Workshops concluded in Palestine

taherinima on 12. December 2022

By Farid Abudheir

The Department of Communication & Digital Media at
An-Najah National University organized a closing ceremony for the workshops carried out at the university campus on Wednesday 30^th November 2022.

At the ceremony, certificates were given to the 69 students participating in the workshops, and prizes were also given to the students who made remarkable journalism works.

*Participants in the workshops holding their certificates (Photo: Roea Zebin*)

The workshops dealt with three topics: the first was entitled “The Flow of Global News Stream on Social Media concerning Environmental and Climate Issues“. The second workshop was regarding “The Investigative Reporting on Corruption“, while the third workshop dealt with the issue of “Access to Information“.

Students from An-Najah National, Arab American, Hebron, and Palestine Technical (Kadoorie) universities have participated in the third workshop, where the competing students prepared media materials in the field of access to information including press reports, videos, and posters.

Regarding the “investigative reporting on corruption” competition, the students produced a set of journalistic investigations that dealt with corruption issues, used research tools to collect data, analyzed and discussed them, and put forward possible solutions to those issues.

A set of works produced by students, short films and posters in particular, were presented.

*Dr. Farid Abudheir declaring the results of the competition of the media production (Photo: Sameh Abu Alrub)*

The ceremony was attended by Dr. Farid Abudheir, Coordinator of Joint Projects with JMIC at Oslo Metropolitan University, Dr. Hussam Abu Diya, Dr. Abdeljawad Abdeljawad, Mr. Ayman Al-Masri, Dr. Islam Halayka, Dr. Said Shahin, Head of the Department of Media at Hebron University, and Ms. Ramz Bsharat from the Arab American University.

*Trainers and judges honoring one of the students who participated in the workshops (Photo: Sameh Abu Alrub)*

Dr. Farid Abudheir has praised the participation of the Palestinian universities in the “Access to Information” workshop. He also stressed the importance of the three topics addressed by the workshops, especially in raising awareness of the issues of access to information, corruption issues, and environmental and climate issues. Besides, he considered that these workshops were aimed at spreading awareness of these issues and enhancing the student’s abilities to address them using media tools.

Not to mention, Dr. Abudheir thanked An-Najah National University including its administration and departments that helped in making these workshops a success. He also thanked JMIC at OsloMet, which supported the projects implemented by the Department of Communication and Digital Media at An-Najah National University. The meeting was concluded by taking group photos of the participants.

Interactive safety training

taherinima on 25. October 2022

By Bora Ataman and Baris Coban

“Safety of Journalists Training Program” was held in Istanbul on October 15-16, in cooperation with TOVAK (Turkish Social Services Foundation), TGS (The Journalists’ Union of Turkey) and JMIC-OsloMet.

The first day of the training was entirely allocated to Abeer Saady, one of the distinguished international safety experts working with JMIC. In a total of 4 sessions, interactive training content on how to stay away from violence and how journalists can protect themselves, and the risks and threats that reporters frequently face were discussed.

*The group trained in Istanbul in October* (Photo: Hilal Yilmaz, TGS).

On the second day of the training, how journalists can also protect their mental health when applying for psychological support, and legal aspects of journalism safety and digital security were discussed in 3 separate sessions. All sessions had content covering both the offline and online safety of journalists.

The lessons were very productive thanks to the hands-on training method that allowed the participants to share their experiences and learn from each other. At the end of the 2-day training, most of the participants said that they found the training very satisfying, with reference to the awareness they gained on journalism safety and the practical knowledge they gained. In addition, they stated that they wanted to cover all their deficiencies in this regard with more detailed, longer-term training in the near future.

*The group trained for two days* (Photo: Hilal Yilmaz, TGS).

The safety handbook “What if…” by Abeer Saady is translated to Turkish. Abeer Saady was asked to do a safety training in Turkey when the book was launched by TGS before the summer, and she is invited back again.

Book link:
https://www.kafkakitap.com/kitap/kadin-gazeteciler-icin-guvenlik-el-kitabi-ne-yapmali/

Download link:
The Safety Handbook translated to Turkish

Social media and mediated societies in transition

taherinima on 14. October 2022

By: Dr. Altaf Ullah Khan

The Faculty of Humanities, Forman Christian College (A Chartered University) (FCCU), in collaboration with the Department of Journalism and Media Studies and Journalism and Media International Centre (JMIC) at Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet) in Norway, hosted a three-day workshop on “Peace Journalism” on the topic of “Surviving the social media onslaught: Mainstream journalism, peace, and democracy in the transitional societies” in Lahore in Pakistan 11 – 13 October 2022.

If we agree with Marshal McLuhan in the slightest possible way, the advent of social media ushers is the dawn of a new phase in human civilisation. The rise of social media has taken the world by storm: online aggression, polarisation in human societies, populism, fake news, alternative truth, and many challenges outweigh the original euphoria of the arrival of the new saviour. There is no doubt about the positive influence of the social media: interactive discourse patterns, freedom to express ones views without any dependence on external gate keepers, voices for the voiceless, representation of the marginalised. All these but seem to be a lost cause amid the chaos created by echo chamber mentality through creating communities of consent. The public sphere is lost to the populist and the ‘unfinished project of modernity’ seems falling apart.

Group photo of the workshop participants, speakers and organizers (Photo: Media Center, Forman Christian College University).

The three day peace journalism workshop on Surviving the Social Media Onslaught: Mainstream Journalism, Peace and Democracy in Transitional Societies was organised at Forman Christian College University, Lahore in collaboration with Journalism and Media International Center, OsloMet Norway from October 11 to 13, 2022. Head of the department of Journalism & Media Studies at OsloMet, Anne Hege Simonsen also participated in the Lahore workshop.

Anne Hege Simonsen engaged the audience in an interactive session (Photo: Media Center, Forman Christian College University).

77 participants registered through a Google link, 51 of these were invited, while 45 successfully completed the workshop to win their certificates of participation. All universities offering mass communication degrees in Lahore were represented in the workshop. Participants from Multan in southern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Peshawar and Swat), Karachi, and Islamabad also participated in the activity. Working journalists from Lahore and Peshawar were also among the participants. The workshop program was organised around four themes: theoretical concepts of peace journalism within the context of social media and preservation of democracy, practical journalists’ insights into the working of the social media dominated media structures in Pakistan, technological aspects of social media platforms’ perils and potentials, expertise from fields outside academic and practical journalism.

All the four thematic streams contributed to the understanding of the working of mediated societies in transition. The academic presentations of research projects gave an insight into the working of the research structures in Pakistan. These were mutually beneficial for the presenters and the audiences, the former getting valuable feedback from a well versed audience, while the latter having access to the latest developments.

Altaf Ullha Khan delivers his inaugural speech on the first day of the Workshop (Photo: Media Center, Forman Christian College University).

The theoretical submissions were balanced by the experiences from the field. Working journalists gave their views on the practical impact of social media on their everyday working in the media. Views from outside the realm of peace studies and journalism came handy through inputs from counter insurgency and counter terrorism perspectives. It also made clear the distinction between the former and the latter two, peace studies being a social process, believing in the goodness and equality of humankind, while anything counter (insurgency or terrorism) serving as strategic responses by political structures used by state apparatuses, resting on the premise of a belligerent other within the same society.

Last but not least was the discussions on the ethical pitfalls in times of war. Truth being the first casualty of any aggression, leaving no victors. The presentation on visual literacy helped the audience to identify their own biases to move out of their personal utopias and become more self-reflective. The discussion on public sphere within the context of Juergen Habermas’ latest book were the highlight of how theoretical underpinnings could be used to practically develop a discourse.

Question/Answer session between the participant and speakers (Photo: Media Center, Forman Christian College University).

Like all things human, the workshop deepened our understanding of the new media, the challenges and potentials it offers, and how to harness these independent energies for the betterments of human societies. The possibility of a global and shared idea of humanity is very much in sight. It is a vague path with no guarantees or milestones. The only way to explore is to keep moving forward and digging deeper to unearth the best possible option for peace and democracy through our feeble capacities as journalists and educationists.