Project Overview:
PEF initiated a project titled as “Engaging Media Influencers for Peace” to engage Media Influencers as they are a critical target group to amplify peace narrative through effectively using media platforms (print, electronic and social media). The Media Influencers are engaged from across Pakistan including Punjab, KPK, Sindh, Balochistan and Federal- Islamabad. The project will build the capacity of 100 Media Influencers (50 male and 50 female) from across Pakistan through specialized two-layers of capacity building workshops on peacemaking, inter and intra-faith reconciliations, religious freedom, human rights, diversity and pluralism and media skills. Once trained, the participants will be given opportunities to develop and implement a series of seed projects through effectively using the media platforms, digital media such as TV and radio channels, print media such as newspaper, religious journals and magazines including social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter, YouTube and zoom to amplify messages on peace, tolerance and interfaith harmony in different set of forms and formats.
OBJECTIVES:
- To capacitate Media Influencers on peacemaking, critical thinking and media skills that enable them to contribute for an inclusive society.
- Prepare the influencers to design media seed projects on peacemaking, interreligious understanding, co-existence and defend the rights of women and other faiths by creating a network of Peace Catalyst on media platforms.
Summary Four-day training Workshop:
Peace and Education Foundation conducted a Four-day capacity building training workshops for Media Influencers in Islamabad from February 09-12, 2023. A total of 30 Participants (17 male and 13 female) from various Muslim denominations, institutions and different media outlets (Print, electronic and social media) representing Sindh and Balochistan were engaged through two-bathes of the training. The workshops covered a broad set of physical and intellectual exercises, all aimed to better their understanding, comprehension and skill-set that ultimately contribute into their role for building peace in the society. The training strategically designed in a manner to ensure optimal interactions and mutual discussions with the group of participants that includes group works, role plays, revealing their personal stories on conflicts or violent conflicts and questions & answer sessions with CVE and media experts. The training curriculum included different topics like critical thinking, Diversity and ethics of disagreements, The power of one- self-awareness, Role of media in narrative building, types of information disorder, disinformation campaigns, How to stop fake news, tools to fight disinformation, different laws related to media, Peace Tech- media skills for promoting peace.
Learning Outcomes:
As an outcome of the workshops, the participants prepared initial design for seed projects followed by their clusters (print, electronic and social media) to promote peace, tolerance, dialogue and interfaith harmony through effectively using media platforms. PEF’s team of experts have given feedback on initial ideas/design for seed projects, presented by Media Influencers.
Quotations of Participants- Takeaways:
Raheel Muavia, a young Media Influencer published his article in Daily Pakistan on 16 February 2023 after attending PEF’s Media Infuencers workshop in Islamabad.In this article, he expressed that being a media person we generally tend to highlight more negative incidents related to intolerence or violence but there is a posivity exist in our society that needs to be highlighted. He also highlighted learnings from different aspects of the workshop.
Mujeeb ur Rehman, a writer and journalist expressed his views that “the critical role of media in today’s world to shape different set of narratives (wheter it is good or harmful that leads towards intolerence or violence in the society). Keeping in view he expressed that there is need to amplify peace building narrative through media platforms to manage violent conflict in the society. This PEF initiative enhance our optimism to do whatever we can to make the society more peacful and prosperous, he further added.
Sadia Khalid a participant of Media influencers workshop created a social media post to share her learning during the worksohp with her followers. She expressed that the power and influence of social media is gradually increasing day by day, it is now our responsibility to channelize this platform to build peace, tolerence and interfaith harmony that is need of this reliogious society.
Waqas Khan created a social media post to highlight how important is to understanding societial context of various social problems and issues because every problem or conflict has different dimesions. If it is not properly understood, may lead towards violent conflict. In this scenerio, PEF’s workshop for Media Infuencers is a commendeble effort to build peace in the society by using media platforms.
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