The second and final day of the “Human Fraternity Initiative – Media Training”, organized by the Religion & Security Council (RSC), took place on Saturday, March 9, at the Safadi Cultural Center in Tripoli, North Lebanon.
Similarly to the initial day of the program, over 20 journalists and media professionals from Tripoli and North Lebanon attended the proceedings, which were opened by the remarks of the representatives of local faith-based and civil society organizations: Mr. Camil Ammar, President of the Maison d’Entraide et de Développement Social (MEDS); Ms. Eliana Farah, Member of the Young Women Christian Association-Lebanon (YWCA-L), Sheikh Ali Assi, Head of the Religious Department, Alawite Islamic Charity Association (AICA); Rev. Fr. Abdo Raad, President of the Annas Linnas Association; Mr. Mohammad Younis, social activist. During the session, moderated by RSC Coordinator for Tripoli and North Lebanon Amin Brair, they shared their experience in strengthening community bonds between different religious groups at the grassroots level, shedding light on their accomplishments as well as on challenges to overcome.
The next session featured an interreligious group of Tripoli’s prominent religious, political, and academic figures, who discussed the role of the decision-makers in translating the content and the message of the “Human Fraternity Document” into concrete “policies, decisions, legislative texts”: H.E. Mons. Youssef Soueif, Maronite Archbishop of Tripoli; H.Em. Sheikh Malik al-Shaar, Former Mufti of Tripoli and North Lebanon; MP Elie Khoury, District of Tripoli; Dr. Mustafa Allouch, Former MP, District of Tripoli; Dr. Mustafa al-Helwi, scholar and author.
A keynote speech on “Media and Peace-Building” was then given by Dr. May Chidiac, Former Minister and President of the May Chidiac Foundation − Media Institute (MCF-MI), followed by a roundtable discussion moderated by Ildico Elia, host at Radio Liban Libre (RLL).
In the last session, participants presented their works on “Tripoli – Capital of Human Fraternity”, showing the videos, articles, and interviews they produced with the direction of the journalist and media personality Zaven Kouyoumdjian.
In conclusion, RSC Chairman Emiliano Stornelli thanked the participants for their commitment to the program, and announced that there will be new developments soon within the “Human Fraternity Initiative” in Tripoli and Northern Lebanon, also involving the media among the key stakeholders. He also highlighted the upcoming distribution of medicines and pharmaceutical products coming from Italy to local families in need by the “Human Fraternity Ambassadors”, an interreligious network of young practitioners active in the social field in Tripoli and North Lebanon.
The proceedings ended with the distribution of the participation certificates to the journalists and media professionals who joined the “Human Fraternity Initiative – Media Training”.
The program was organized by RSC with the support of the KAICIID Dialogue Centre and the De Gasperi Foundation, and in partnership with the May Chidiac Foundation-Media Institute (Media Advisor), Dialogue for Life and Reconciliation (DLR), DLR Sustainable Network of Religious Leaders in the North of Lebanon, Maison d’Entraide et de Développement Social (MEDS), Alawite Islamic Charity Association (AICA), Annas Linnas Association, and the Lebanese Center for Active Citizenship (LCAC).
Full Program (English, Arabic)
