Mass Media Tools for Activists

Representatives of civil society organizations in Kuwait and Jordan received hands-on training as they each produced their first Public Service Announcements (PSAs): short videos carrying an awareness message for broadcast to the general public via television, the internet, and personal electronic devices.   Expert PSA and documentary film-making trainers from the New York-based organization, Barefoot Workshops, conducted a 10-day digital media training in Kuwait in late November/early December, and will complete the training workshop for Jordanian organizations in Amman on December 18.

With support from the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), a wide range of active civil society organizations in Kuwait and Jordan will now be able to use digital technology and media to deliver their messages on issues of public concern to a wide audience.  They have learned how to conceptualize, film, produce, and edit their PSAs on topics such as education, human rights, voter’s rights, political participation, and volunteerism; gaining a valuable tool for affecting public opinion and encouraging citizen engagement with government.

In Kuwait, workshop graduates produced PSAs on a range of awareness topics they deemed important for their society to consider.  According to Alison Fast, Program Director of Barefoot Workshops, the topics varied from childhood obesity, to women’s right to vote independently, to free press advocacy, to the rights of stateless people in Kuwait.  Some of the titles were “My Choice, My Voice”, “Free Media”, “Stateless”, and “Nationalism”.  Alison is very pleased with the participants’ work, especially given the fact that many of them had never used a video camera before.  The enthusiasm of the Kuwaiti participants appears likely to continue.  “They have already made plans to create a civil society film club and to continue producing PSAs as a group monthly,” Alison said.  The messages these participants generated in Kuwait have already begun to reach a wide audience, as seven local newspapers covered the screening press conference, and the PSAs were broadcasted December 12 on Kuwait’s CNBC channel.  Participants will now seek further opportunities to broadcast their PSAs, and most also plan to post them to their organization’s website. 

In Jordan, the final screening will take place at a press conference on December 18.  According to Alison, the participants in Jordan have so far also shown impressive commitment and strong capacities.  “Several have the ability and the long-term objective to work effectively on a national level and use the skills they have learned to incorporate media into their efforts to convey awareness messages to the general public,” she added.

The project in Kuwait was reported in Al Rai, Al Seyassah, Al Watan, Al Nahar, and Kuwait Times on December 8, and likely will appear in the Jordanian press on December 19.