Tag: pakistan

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Future of Media Journalist security Press freedom War and peace Workshop

Social media and mediated societies in transition

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.

Vice Rector, Douglas Trimble and Altaf Khan presents a souvenir to Anne Hege Simonsen (Photo: Media Center, Forman Christian College University).
Categories
Climate change Workshop

Workshop on Climate Journalism Education 

By Syed M. Saqib Saleem   

The Faculty of Humanities, Forman Christian College (A Chartered University), in collaboration with JMIC, hosted a one-day workshop on Climate Journalism Education 1st June 2022.  

The workshop was attended by academicians, postgraduate students and journalists joining in from all over Pakistan and abroad.  

Group photo of the climate journalism education workshop (Photo: Media Center, FCCU).

It discussed ways of teaching climate journalism and helped provide ideas for training journalism students through the collective effort of academicians and journalists who have worked in the field and are aware of the climate crisis.  

Dr. Altaf Ullah Khan, Dean of Humanities at FCCU, inaugurated the workshop and gave a keynote speech in which he stated, “If we, as academicians, have a good understanding of climate crisis, only then we will be able to train our students in the best possible way on its journalistic perspective as well. Since climate change is both our present and our future.” 

Dr Altaf Ullah Khan delivers his keynote speech at the workshop inauguration ceremony (Photo: Media Center, FCCU).

The workshop was moderated by Rachel Hasan, Chairperson Department of Mass Communication. Dr Elisabeth Eide, Co-Director Media Climate Network and Professor of Journalism from OsloMet, gave a brief introduction of the workshop and gave the floor to Dr Derk Bakker, Associate Professor and Chairperson of Department of Environmental Sciences, FCCU. He highlighted the impacts and solutions for climate change.  

Dr Derk Bakker pinpoints impacts and solutions of climate change (Photo: Media Center, FCCU).

Dr Elisabeth Eide later built up on his speech and shared why climate change is a concern for journalists and journalism students. She shared the models for education on climate journalism and stated: “It is crucial to combine studies with field visits for students as well and help them learn from local experts and indigenous people.” 

Moreover, Hannah Bernstein, science journalist and project manager at Internews’ Earth Journalism Network, along with Syed Abubakar, Environment journalist and media trainer, and Syed M. Saqib, Assistant Professor of Mass Communication, FCCU, further discussed ways to train students to cover climate stories and what can be included in the courses to enhance future journalists’ capacity to report on climate. They were of the view that it is high time, climate journalism was integrated into the curriculum for journalism students in Pakistan. 

Workshop participants (Photo: Media Center, FCCU).

Finally, Muhammad Daud Khan and Stella Paul, the two famous climate journalists working in the field and setting a precedent for others to follow, joined the workshop and shared that: “As journalists, we are storytellers and are also the mediators between people at the frontline of climate crisis and masses. So, we have to be the ones to tell the missing stories to the world.” 

The workshop was concluded with some final remarks by Dr Elisabeth Eide and Oona Solberg. Dr Douglas Trimble, Vice-Rector, FCCU, was also present at the occasion and gave his concluding speech. After that, certificates were distributed among the participants.  

Overall, the training was informative and valuable for participants and encouraged them to become change makers within their institutions and support the efforts to introduce climate journalism education courses for journalism students in Pakistan.  

Categories
Journalist security Workshop

Staying safe at the digital workplace

A four-day training workshop on digital security in hostile environments with strong media systems was completed on April 22, 2022. The workshop took place as part of a continuous collaboration between Forman Christian College University (FCCU) in Lahore in Pakistan and JMIC/OsloMet. 

By Dr. Altaf Ullah Khan

Group photo on the completion of 4-day journalists’ safety workshop (Photo: Media center FCCU).

The theme of the training is relevant globally. In a country like Pakistan it becomes even more important. Journalism is a dangerous profession in the country and digital safety is of paramount importance amid polarization in both society and media. Keyboard warriors and clickbait culture has put journalists in an extremely vulnerable position. Knowing the basics of digital safety is an important resource for good journalism. 

We are thankful to OsloMet for the financial and expert support in organizing this important training. The trainer Ms. Abeer Saady did a wonderful job by bringing home the skills to the participants.  

Dr Abeer Saady talks about digital security measures (Photo: Media center FCCU).

Our heartiest gratitude to the participants, a group representative of media professionals, academia, and students from different cities of Pakistan. The interactive and proactive nature of the workshop was the key to its success.  

The daily roundup for each day was produced to accommodate as much views as possible on different themes from participants. It was also an effort to recognize the contribution of all who participated in the workshop by giving them a visual representation. 

The final video of the workshop gives an overview of the whole activity as well as contains testimonials.  

We are also thankful to the rector and vice rector of FCCU for their support and active presence.  

Last but not least my special thanks to student volunteers of FCCU who tirelessly worked to support the workshop as well as played a key role in producing the deliverables. 

In the end I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the organization and completion of the international activity in the month of Ramadan. 

Dr Abeer Saady and Dr Altaf Ullah Khan pose for a picture outside Lahore Press Club (LPC)

We look forward to more international partnerships in the very near future. This collaboration is also a testimony to the fact that international collaboration to solve the shared problems of humanity is possible. We only need the will to act, the commitment to work hard, and the trust to build a better world. 

More information:  

Training Workshop held on Journalists’ Safety During Conflicts

Video report on workshop on Digital Security in Hostile Environments with Strong Media Systems (Media center FCCU): https://youtu.be/zqdK4brhHdk