New reflections on exile and migration

This journalism and migration workshop, held in the same format on three different occasions in Lebanon in 2018-2019 (Beirut 26-27 November, the Bekaa 14-15 December, Tripoli 22-23 February), will give you as a journalist, writer, documentarian, civil society actor or researcher an opportunity to reflect on your own perspectives, develop better understandings of migration in Lebanon and find ways to do more just and equitable reporting on the topic.

The workshops are open to anyone with a journalistic experience, including writers, documentarians, photographers, bloggers, students and others, and people working in different ways with refugees and migration, in particular those in communication or documentation who come in close contact with journalists. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds.

During two full days, using participatory and reflective methods, we look at ourselves as journalistic actors: how our own experiences have shaped us and our perspectives, how the way we report has an impact on others, and how we can do journalism in a way that defies stereotypes and promotes justice and equality. The workshop is in Arabic and English with simultaneous translation.

The workshop will:

– give participants an introduction to migration in the Lebanese context

– promote critical ways of thinking about journalism in general and migration reporting in particular

– encourage an intercultural and self-reflective approach where journalists reflect on their own roles

– connect different actors in journalism and work collectively for a more just and equitable coverage

The workshop is co-organised by Jibal, a Lebanese non-profit promoting sustainability and social justice, and Mashallah News, a regional media collective publishing stories on society and urban culture. It is headed by two trainers: Angela Saade, co-founder of Jibal and working since many years with various international and anti-racism/anti-discrimination projects, and Jenny Gustafsson, co-founder and editor of Mashallah News and with a journalistic experience of reporting on migration from countries including Lebanon, Egypt, Libya, the UAE, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.