THURSDAY, 3rd NOVEMBER

9.00-09.30:

Welcome address by Henry Alt-Haaker, Senior Project Manager, Robert Bosch Stiftung

Opening remarks by Anja Wollenberg, Head of Research and Development, MiCT

9.30 – 10.15: Keynote by Katrin Voltmer, Professor of Communication and Democracy at University of Leeds and Principal Investigator MeCoDEM

Facilitator: Indira Dupuis, Researcher International Communication at Free University Berlin

10.15 – 10.45 Coffee break

10.45 -12.30: Challenges of media polarization in the context of (armed) conflict and fragile statehood
Facilitator: Anja Wollenberg, Head of Research and Development, MiCT

In a pluralistic media environment the emergence and escalation of intrastate conflict often entails media polarization along conflict lines. This pattern is reinforced by fragile statehood and can, by deepening existing gaps in the society, jeopardize the state building process. Under such circumstances, media assistance is challenged by the apparent contradiction of equally important aims such as pluralism and stability. This session will discuss indicators and criteria for the analysis of pluralism, while looking at the role of education and media literacy and investigating causes and consequences of media polarization.

Speakers:
Jad Melki, Associate Professor of Journalism and Media Studies, Lebanese American University (LAU)
Carola Richter, Associate Professor for International Communication and Hanan Badr, Post-Doc Researcher, Freie Universität Berlin
James Deane, Director of Policy and Learning, BBC Media Action

12.30 – 14.00: Lunch break

14.00 – 15.30: The role of media in transitional justice and reconciliation
Facilitator: Isabel Rodde, Cross Sectoral Programme Human Rights, GIZ

In the aftermath of brutal civil wars, justice and reconciliation processes play a crucial role in helping societies deal with the legacy of mass human rights violations. Media is an important actor in this process, as well as a subject that requires reform itself. This session discusses competing values such as freedom of expression and promotion of reconciliation and addresses major achievement and challenges of media development work in reconciliation and transitional justice processes.

Speakers:
Pierre Hazan, Editorial Advisor JusticeInfo.net, Associate Professor Neuchâtel University
Roger Niyigena, Project Director Ejo Youth Echo in Rwanda
Maria Teresa Ronderos, Director of the Program on Independent Journalism, Open Society Foundations

15.30 – 16.00: Coffee break

16.00 – 18.00: Information verification and Open Source Intelligence
Facilitator: Friederike von Franqué, Chair, IDEM

The need for accurate and timely information is the more pressing in times of conflict, when the deliberate placement of information is part of a combat strategy. Focusing on the internet as a source, this session explores the parameters for journalistic work in information verification, open source intelligence and real-time data mining with examples from Germany and Ukraine. Given the drastic increase of possibilities for surveillance, strategies for protection of endangered journalists and the media development community itself are also discussed.

Speakers:
Michael Wegener, Head of Content Center, ARD News
Oleg Khomenok, Senior Media Advisor of Internews Network and Co-founder of YanukovychLeaks.org
Chris Böhme, Chief Architect Maltego, Paterva

 

FRIDAY, 4th NOVEMBER

09.00 – 10.30: Measuring impact in media projects in conflict/fragile contexts
Facilitator: Christoph Spurk, Institute of Applied Media Studies, Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW

The impact of media support is always a crucial question. Measuring impacts in conflict contexts is perceived as especially challenging due to their fast-changing nature. This session aims at exchanging views on latest developments on how to measure impact of media projects on peace processes or generally in conflict environments: What are good examples? What lessons can be learnt for future impact evaluation? How important is the justification of projects by measuring impact in donor practice?

Speakers:
Chris Snow, Governance Research Manager and Andrea Scavo, Quantative Research Manager, BBC Media Action
Nicolas Boissez, Programme Manager, Foundation Hirondelle
Jeffrey Conroy-Krutz, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Michigan State University

10.30 – 12.30: Open exchange

Practitioner Roundtables
Facilitators: Christoph Dietz, CAMECO, Britta Scholtys, GIZ

Samir Bol, Hakim George, Enrica Valentini, South Sudan
Stefanie Duckstein, Department of Media and Communication (DMC), Royal University of Pnomh Pen, Cambodia
Gustav Ebai, Community Radio Initiative of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon
Elijah Gegra, Aminata F. Massaquoi, Sia Nyandemoh and Josephus Sankoh, Culture Radio, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Katja Gürten, Kutawato Multimedia Network (KuMuNet), Philippines
Qassim Khidir, Refugee Radio START FM, Iraq
Masood Momin, Afghan Journalists’ Peace Journalism Project
Christian Schulte, Radio Liberdade, Timor Leste

Media Development Coaching Session
Facilitator: Sofie Jannusch, CAMECO

Bettina Haasen: The past that won’t pass by. Journalists’ habitus in the context of fragile transformation processes during Burundi’s 2015 electoral campaign
Sacha Meuter: Public Service Media Standards for UN Peacekeeping Operations (UNPOs). Challenges of a multidisciplinary research project
Veronika Divišová: Head of Strategic Partnerships, Sourcefabric

12.30 – 13.30 Lunch break

13.30 – 15.00: Facing ethical dilemmas: Journalists and media development actors in conflict societies
Facilitator: Jan Lublinski, Head of Research and Evaluation, DW Akademie

Ethics form a vital component of journalism as a profession. During conflict coverage the values and guiding principles that journalists apply are of key importance. Based on latest findings from the international research project “Media, Conflict and Democratisation” (MeCoDEM), this session will evaluate ethical dilemmas that journalists face in conflict environments, address the issue of traumatisation and discuss new approaches for media development work in this field.

Speakers:
Ines Drefs, Research Associate MeCoDEM, Hamburg University
Gamal Soltan, Associate Professor at the American University of Cairo and Research Associate MeCoDEM
Altaf Khan, Head of Journalistic Department at University of Peshawar and Co-founder of the Competence and Trauma Center for Journalists (CTCJ)

15.00 – 15.30: Coffee break

15.30 – 17.00: Safety and protection of journalists
Facilitator: Christian Spahr, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Head of the Media Program South East Europe

Journalists and media workers are increasingly subject to deliberate violence and imprisonment. This is indicative of the failure of the initiatives so far taken to protect media personnel – such as various UN resolutions on the safety of journalists. The session evaluates the UN action plan of safety of journalists and the role of the „Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for the Safety of Journalists“, analyses the role of media development organisations and media companies for protecting journalists in fragile and failing states and discusses political obstacles against strengthening international safety mechanisms.

Speakers:
Ibrahim Al Sragey, Iraqi Journalists Rights Defense Association (IJRDA)
Esben Q. Harboe, International Media Support (IMS)
Delphine Halgland, Reporters Without Borders (RSF)