MEDIA FACING TENSIONS AND TRANSITIONS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

# 22/12/2012
MEDIA FACING TENSIONS AND TRANSITIONS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

A Euro-Med Media Meeting

28th February - 1st March 2013, Barcelona

In the context of the preparation of "Anna Lindh Forum 2013", the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures (ALF) will hold the third Preparatory Meeting focusing on ‘’MEDIA FACING TENSIONS AND TRANSITIONS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN’’ with several experts and practitioners from the fields and participants from the Anna Lindh National Networks who work on media.

The Meeting will be co-organised with the ALF Head of the Spanish Network IEMed and the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean with the media partnership of France 24, RFI and Radio Monté Carlo Doualiya.

1. BACKGROUND: THE "ANNA LINDH FORUM 2013"

The Anna Lindh Forum is a major civil society gathering for the promotion of intercultural action across the Mediterranean region to bring together civil society and NGO representatives from the  Union for the Mediterranean countries to debate and create action in favour of dialogue, mutual understanding and peace. The event is organized every three years.

In line with the objectives and level of participation of the first and successful Anna Lindh Forum 2010, which took place in Barcelona, the ALF Secretariat will hold the second edition of the Anna Lindh Forum in Marseille, France, from 4 to 7 April 2013.

Based on the successful model of the first edition, the Anna Lindh Forum 2013 will consist of an ‘Agora’ (plenary sessions and seminars referred to the strategic fields of the Foundation), a ‘Medina’ (workshops on good practices initiated among ALF activities and aiming at addressing topics and common problems related to field work) and an ‘Intercultural Fair’ (a space of networking where all ALF network members and partners present their activities to the public at large as well as exhibitions and artworks).

The rationale for holding the Forum Preparatory Meetings is to identify - from the perspective of the different focus group “Youth, women and  Migrants” Ideas for Discussion, Ideas for Action and Inspiring Experiences to set the scene for the 2013 Anna Lindh Forum 2013.

Two Preparatory Meetings “Youth Contributions for Dialogue and Change” and ‘’Women Contributions for Dialogue and Change’’ already took place in Istanbul and Casablanca during the past 6 months.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE MEETING

The Anna Lindh Foundation is co-organising with the IEMed and the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) a Euro-Med Media meeting gathering 70 renowned journalists, media professionals and civil society representatives. The meeting will take place in partnership with the Euro-Med Media Network and the European and Economic and Social Committee, at the birthplace of the Barcelona Process, in the symbolic Palau de Pedralbes on the 28th of February and the 1st of March 2013.

The meeting is conceived as a preparatory event of the Anna Lindh Mediterranean Forum 2013, which will be a landmark gathering 1000 leading civil society actors and policy makers following the Arab Awakening and the crisis in Europe. The Euro-Med Media Meeting will shape the Forum’s media track debating and developing actions aimed at supporting journalists in facing the challenges of the new social and cultural landscape which is emerging in the region.

Media and journalists are facing the consequences of the transformations and turmoil affecting the region,  and the Meeting will focus on the challenges related to this new context, particularly for ensuring Media Freedom and reporting across cultures. The Euromed Media Meeting will be an opportunity for discussing the role of Media in reporting about the ongoing democratic transitions in the Arab countries and  the economic and social crisis affecting the European societies.

3. THEMATIC FOCUSES

The meeting will be a unique encounter to explore how journalists and media can elaborate new and effective ethical practices in a context of changing trends and realities affecting the notions of dialogue, diversity, democracy and development. The inputs and the reflections of the participants will constitute and intellectual and operational base for setting a new Media Agenda for the future of the Euro-Mediterranean which will be presented at the Anna Lindh Forum.

THEMATIC DEBATE 1.0: New challenges for Media freedom and reporting across cultures 

 This debate will focus on ‘’Reporting on economic and social crisis’’ and on ‘’Reporting on conflicts and crisis with intercultural dimensions’’.

 THEMATIC DEBATE 2.0: How are crisis and transitions reshaping mutual perceptions across the Mediterranean?

 This debate will focus on ‘’The Potential of New Media in shaping mutual perceptions’’ and on ‘’How media contributed on democratic transitions in the region’’

THEMATIC DEBATE 3.0: How are crisis and transitions changing the media? 

 This debate will focus on ‘’The impact of the economic and social crisis on Media’’ and on  ‘’The impact of transitions and the rise of social media on classical media’’.

 4. METHODOLOGY

All participants are expected to actively contribute to the sessions of the Meeting with Ideas for Discussion and Ideas for Action and to present their activities and identify inspiring/relevant experiences at some stage during the meeting.

The format of the meeting will combine panel discussions with the presentation of inspiring best practices such as the ‘’Mapping of the Euro-Mediterreanean Media Project’’, the Primary results of the Anna Lindh Report 2013 Gallup Poll,  the Mediterranean Journalist Award, or projects developed by the ALF Networks. The meeting should have an advocacy role providing solutions and recommendation for the institutional agenda, the Anna Lindh Programme and the Anna Lindh Networks.

The working languages of the Meeting will be English and French.

 5. PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS

The event will gather participants from ALF Networks, existing regional platforms/networks, experts and grassroots level representatives working on media related issues. 20 participants will be identified through the call for participation, and around 30 experts from the field of media will be invited from the host country and the other Euromed countries.

The participants should:

  • be resident in one of the 42 countries[1] of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership;
  • representatives of an ALF network member;
  • have experience in the field of media;
  • be strongly motivated to work on at least one of the three topics of the Meeting and ensure a follow-up to the Meeting;
  • be able to communicate in English and/or French during the Meeting;
  • be able to participate during the full duration of the Meeting;
  • preferably be able to act as a multiplier of the Meeting conclusions through the organization/institution he/she represents.

[1] Albania, Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom.

6. APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCEDURES

 This Call for Participants along with the Application Form will be sent by e-mail to all ALF network members. The selection committee at ALF Headquarters will examine the received applications and select around 20 applicants. The selection of participants will be subject to the quality of applications received, while trying to ensure a geographical and gender balance.

Only successful applicants will be contacted.

The filled in Application Form should be sent email to: mediameeting@annalindhforum.org

7. TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION EXPENSES

The ALF and its partners will cover all expenses related to travel, board, accommodation and visa of the selected participants.

8. DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION

The deadline for receiving the applications is Thursday 10 January 2012 (00:00 Egypt Time – GMT+2) 

Kindly note that applications received after the deadline will not be taken into consideration and that only selected applicants will be notified.