Youth share experience using media, journalism to promote human rights

AMMAN — Some 100 youth and partners on Sunday gathered at the King Hussein Club, to share their personal experiences in the field of media and human rights, during a seminar titled “Media, journalism and culture for human rights: sharing of experiences”.

Organised by the UNESCO Amman office, the event aimed at reviewing the work and achievements witnessed throughout two of UNESCO’s projects in Jordan, namely the “Prevention of violent extremism through youth empowerment in Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia” funded by Canada and the EU-funded “Support to Media in Jordan” project.

Delivering the event’s opening remarks, UNESCO representative to Jordan Costanza Farina reminded participants of the importance of “leaving no one behind” and of the “criticality of integrating the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into all efforts”. 

“Within the agenda, Sustainable Development Goal 16 focuses on public access to information and the protection of fundamental freedoms, two interrelated objectives that are key accelerators of progress, to which the project contributed,” Farina stated, stressing that “youth has a role to play in democratic societies”.

For her part, Canadian representative, Pam Bahlis, commended the participating youth for their interest and leadership, saying “as Canadians, this project echoes values that we closely share with Jordan: inclusivity, tolerance and empowerment. We believe that providing the tools to effectively assess information before us before expressing ourselves on difficult subjects, allows individuals such as yourselves to act as mentors and agents of change.” 

In front of a large audience composed of young women and men from civil society organisations (CSOs), journalism and media students as well as key partners, UNESCO Project Officer Sabrina Salis introduced the agency’s work on human rights through media, journalism and culture.

The seminar continued with a panel discussion on “Media Information Literacy for CSOs and youth in Jordan”, which included speakers from UNESCO, local CSOs Drabzeen Human Development and Qantra Human Development and the Media Diversity Institute’s CEO Milica Pesic.

“This seminar sought to share experiences and explore UNESCO’s approach to human rights in the field of media, journalism and culture,” a UNESCO representative told The Jordan Times, adding that “youth and partners participated actively by engaging in a series of panel discussions which brought forward very relevant topics on the current use of social media and cultural diversity.”

Two other sessions followed focusing on the issue of human rights sensitive reporting, with the participation of Journalists for Human Rights’ Programme Manager Mohammad Shamma and presenter at Al Naja7 Radio Sara Momani.

A third and last session offered an insight into the work implemented by famous Jordanian cartoonist Omar Abdallat in providing youth with the tools to express themselves through art. 

“Cartoons have proven a powerful tool to express messages of tolerance and human rights, and contribute to the overall construction of a more open and tolerant society,” the UNESCO representative said, noting that “young people in Jordan are increasingly interested in adopting this form of communication to express their views”.

Abdallat, who has supported a group of 17 young artists, shared his experience as a trainer alongside trainees Raghad Sayed and Maram Hidmi.