Community Media and Arab Spring

Community Media and the Arab Spring

The location of the CMFE conference in a country which symbolises the crossroads of the Mediterranean inevitably brings our attention to the Arab Spring that has dominated the international news for much of 2011. Social and community media have been at the heart of many of the events as they have unfolded, providing access to independent news and information, a place to organise and a focus for media reform demands. This panel brings together community media activists from Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Palestine to share their experience and to engage with the European community media movement. An opportunity to strengthen bridges and reinforce the contribution of community media to freedom, rights, justice and democracy.

Discussants:

- Fahem Boukadous, Radio Sawt Al Manajem (Voice of the Mines), Tunisia and Francesco Diasio, AMARC Europe/IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group

 

Peoples Media and the Tunisian Revolution

- Ahmed Samih, Radio Horytna, Egypt,

 

Radio Horytna - Voices for Egyptian Freedom

- Sawsan Zaideh, Vice-President MENA region, AMARC International / Radio Al Balad, Jordan Social movements / social media a Jordanian perspective

- Lina Chawaf, Radio Arabesque, Syria

 

Social media and the Syrian struggle

- Daoud Kuttab, AmmanNet/Radio Al Balad, Jordan

 

Media and Political Pluralism after the Arab Spring

Concluding remarks: Emmanuel Boutterin, Vice President, AMARC International

Chair: Steve Buckley, former President, AMARC/ IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group

This panel is organized by the World Association of Community Radio broadcasters (AMARC) in collaboration with CMFE.