USIP Event: “Media as Global Diplomat” (May 12, 2010)

| Thursday, May 6th, 2010 | No Comments »

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The Project on Information Technology and Political Islam is an online partner for the United States Institute of Peace’s leadership summit on May 12,2010: Seizing the Moment: Media & Peacebuilding.

Held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., this summit will consider specific recommendations on ways to harness the power of media for conflict prevention. We will bring together senior media makers and policymakers, powerful change agents who are key to the development of new ideas with the potential to reduce future conflict.

Distinguished participants include:

Agenda

Panel 1:  The New News:  Media at the Crossroads  (9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.)

Nowhere is the media landscape changing more dramatically than in the news business. Newspapers and foreign news bureaus are dwindling, while other information sources are exploding with the rise of the internet, the citizen journalist, and social networking.  Can the morphing of traditional journalism into social networking journalism be directed towards problem-solving on a grander scale than ever before and improved global conflict prevention?  Or are we on a path to a more polarized society, the result of the continuing information balkanization that comes with thousands of online and offline news sources and the disappearance of “mainstream media”. This panel will discuss and consider recommendations designed to leverage the new news business for improved global conflict prevention.

Media Presentation:
Select clips from the 2010 Academy® Award nominee for best documentary feature, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (1971) takes an honest look at Dr. Daniel Ellsberg, a top war planner, who leaked top-secret documents to The New York Times that led to what many consider the toppling of President Nixon and the end of the Vietnam War.

Panel 2:  Storytelling 2.0: Keeping it Real, Opening Minds, and Changing Hearts  (11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.)

There’s no doubt that stories can make a difference—whether it’s a radio drama for girls education in Afghanistan, a tv soccer soap opera in Kenya sparking cross-ethnic dialogue, or documentary like An Inconvenient Truth pushing climate change to the fore.  But what about those who use the power of story to recruit extremists and promote violence? This panel, Storytelling 2.0, will consider how best to amplify the potential of documentary and narrative film to help bridge inter-group conflicts , and look at innovative new models for supporting storytelling that produces positive social change.

Media Presentation:
Project Kashmir: The story of two young American women, one Muslim and the other Hindu, who together sneak their cameras into Kashmir, where conflicting faiths mean war. Their mission: find out what makes their peers choose homeland over preserving their own lives. Project Kashmir tests the limits of friendship and costs of war in one of the most dangerous and beautiful places on earth.

Panel 3:  Next Generation Peacebuilders  (1:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.)

With a recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation finding that American children are exposed to almost 11 hours of multimedia per day—and parallel trends emerging abroad—the future of media and intergroup relations are increasingly intertwined.  High media exposure can correlate to bad grades, just as watching violent images can lead to violent behavior. This panel will explore recommendations for deepening our commitment to developing next generation peacebuilders when digital media platforms are driving skyrocketing media consumption among youth globally.

Media Presentation: TBD

Closing Remarks  (3:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.)

The summit will also have the active participation of other experts as part of an invitation-only audience, and include international voices via webcast, live blogging, and online chat.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

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