Events

In Iraq, "Salam Shabab" is the very first peacebuilding television program depicting the real life story of Iraqi youth. The series showcases not only a population that is often marginalized, but also the powerful desire and capacity of Iraqi youth to bring peace to their communities. The afternoon featured an exclusive screening of one episode from Season 1 of Salam Shabab, which aired in full on Iraq on Al Iraqiya and throughout the region on Space Power. A Q&A session with the show's producers followed the screening. USIP then welcomed a panel of dynamic young cultural leaders and activists from across the Middle East to discuss the role of youth in peacebuilding in the region. The evening concluded with a live performance by Iraqi pop band UTN1.

The arts, media and culture offer peacebuilders a unique set of tools for transforming conflict, ranging from a variety of live theatre performances and the reinvention of cultural traditions to televised episodic drama. What are the implications of these trends on the field of peacebuilding in general? Where are these tools the most appropriate and how can peacebuilders better engage the arts, media and culture to our advantage?

Never before have the media played a more integral role in conflict management. At the same time, funding agencies and policymaking bodies have greater expectations for demonstrating impact and efficacy in this area. To meet these growing needs, media development practitioners, donors, international broadcasters and methodologists have collectively authored guiding principles to improve monitoring and evaluation of media interventions in conflict zones. On September 9, 2011 the Caux Guiding Principles were presented by those organizations who convened the unprecedented working session in Caux, Switzerland, where drafting of these Principles began.

This panel introduced new and original data on the impact of social media across the Middle East.

USIP's Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention and Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding co-hosted a panel discussion on Pakistan’s media sector. The panel analyzed the role media plays in covering extremism and international relationships and discussed ways in which the media can contribute to an alternative narrative on Pakistani social issues, particularly in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.