Our daytime Forum programme will take place at the Ramada hotel.  

The programme can be viewed online here, and downloaded in PDF at the bottom of the page.

A list of the speakers in each session can also be downloaded in PDF at the bottom of this page.

Pictures from the Forum are available on our Flickr set - click here to view them.

Further information on our evening programme can be accessed through the following links:
Sunday 22 January – Film and revolutions
Monday 23 January – World Press Photo Exhibition 

Simultaneous translation will be available in Arabic, English and French.

Visit our Speaker Profiles section for a full overview of the speakers.

 

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Sunday 22 January

 
Arrival, check-in and registration.

20:00 – 22:00

Documentary screening and discussion at the Ciné Hannibal (Centre Alyssa 2092, Manar II, Tunis).

Film screening followed by a discussion with the directors, media representatives and the general public on the role of film in the news agenda.

Click here to read more about the film.

 

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Monday 23 January

9:30 – 10:00

Coffee, registrations and sign-up for sessions

 

10:00, Opening Ceremony

WAN-IFRA Press Freedom Film

Welcome addresses:
On behalf of WAN-IFRA – 2010 Gebran Tueni Award Laureate Aboubakr Jamai 

Keynote telephone address: 
Tawakkol Karman, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Yemen 

Session 1, 11:00 – 12:45
The media: help or hindrance to revolution?

The media’s role in bringing Arab uprisings to international attention has ensured coverage on an unprecedented scale across all platforms, but has the media’s own agenda influenced the success or contributed to the failure of protests around the region? Does the desire for a good story detract from the realities of events on the ground? And what lessons from 2011 can inform the media’s response to future challenges?

Moderator:
Marwan Bishara - Senior Political Analyst, Al Jazeera

Speakers:
Mohamed El Dahshan - Professor, Ain-Shams University, Egypt
Fahem Boukadous - Journalist and activist, Tunisia
Rohan Jayasekera - Associate Editor, Index on Censorship magazine
Raghida Dergham - Senior diplomatic correspondent, Al Hayat, UK

 

Lunch 12:45 – 14:00

 

Session 2, 14:00 – 15:30
How best to support the development of Arab media in transition

Both traditional and emerging media across the Arab world face huge challenges in developing their editorial content and business approach. What are the key obstacles? Are there models to apply, mistakes to avoid or conclusions that can be drawn from countries that have gone through similar transitions? What can media from other parts of the Arab world contribute? And how can the international community better support emerging media?

Moderator:
Yousef Ahmed, General Coordinator of the Arab Network for Freedom of Expression

Speakers:
Guy Berger, Director for Freedom of Expression and Media Development, UNESCO
Hafez Albukari, President, Yemen Polling Centre
Tatiana Repkova, Founder & Director, Media Managers Club
Mansoor al-Jamri, Editor in Chief, Al Wasat, Bahrain

 

Coffee

Session 3, 16:00 – 17:30
How can the media regain public trust as a credible source of news?

Many mainstream news outlets in the Arab world have lost authority as people increasingly turn to blogs and social media for their news updates. How can professional journalists and their publications distinguish themselves as accurate and objective sources of information and regain the trust of their readers? Do we need to rethink ethical codes?

Moderator:
Magda Abu-Fadil, Director, Journalism Training Program, American University of Beirut

Speakers:
Kamel Labidi, President, INRIC, Tunisia
Anette Novak, Editor in Chief, Norran, Sweden
Hussam Eddin Muhammad, Journalist and Literary Critic, Syria
Lina Atallah, Editor in Chief, Al-Masry Al-Youm, Egypt

 

Session 4, 20:00
Evening Reception at Gallery Cherif Fine Art in Sidi Bou Saïd, World Press Photo Exhibition
6.45pm buses depart from Ramada Hotel 

Images of uprisings across the Arab world played a vital role in communicating the stories of millions of ordinary people who took to the streets demanding change. Let us celebrate these images,  along with many other remarkable photos, that can inform, shock and delight us.  We will visit the Gallery Cherif Fine Art and view the 2012 World Press Photo Exhibition, kindly sponsored by the Netherlands Embassy, Tunis. 

Click here to read more about the exhibition.

 

 

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Tuesday 24 January

 

One-on-one business clinics 9:00 - 11:30
Click here for more information.

 

Session 5, 10:00 – 11:30
Is the Arab world any closer to securing the right to freedom of expression?

Challenges to freedom of expression continue to blight the Arab world. Imprisoned journalists and bloggers, censorship and numerous redlines have called into question the gains of revolutions in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, while demands for greater rights in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain have been met by violent repression. How effective can the media be in promoting freedom of expression with so many remaining challenges? And have the uprisings in the Arab world brought fundamental human rights any closer to the Arab people?

Moderator:
Said Essoulami, Center for Media Freedoms, MENA region, Morocco

Speakers:
Sihem Bensedrine, President, OLPEC, Tunisia
Gamal Eid, Executive Director, Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Egypt
Nabeel Rajab, Director, Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Ghias Aljundi, PEN International Writers In Prison Committee/IFEX-TMG coordinator, Syria
Nehad A M Hassouna, Journalist, Palestine

 

Coffee

 

Session 6, 11:45 – 13:00
Social media: saviour of traditional media?

Social media is now a vital conduit for primary source information, feeding an insatiable news agenda and providing an essential channel for freedom of expression. But what are the challenges of relying on social media? What should its relationship be with traditional media? Do news organisations have a responsibility to protect bloggers and citizen journalists if they are supplying the news? Without social media, would the Arab uprisings have been a ‘story’ at all?

Moderator:
Riadh Guerfali, Blogger and activist, Tunisia

Speakers:
Fabrice Epelboin, Journalist and entrepreneur, France
Emna El Hammi, Libération, Tunisia
Tarek Alghorany, Activist, Syria

 

Lunch 13:00 – 14:00

 

Session 7, 14:00 – 15:30
Have priorities changed for Arab media businesses?

Now more than ever innovation across content, design, digital platforms and traditional formats will be crucial to the development of a strong, independent Arab media. What are the business priorities in post-revolutionary media markets? What can be learned from successful media businesses elsewhere in the region? Will business models change to reflect the new expectations of Arab media consumers? Where will investment come from? And is it too early to predict a bright future for the independent Arab media?

Moderator:
Aboubakr Jamaï, Publisher, Morocco

Speakers:
Mohamed Alayyan, Publisher, Jordan
Jacek Utko, Design director, Bonnier Business Press (BPP), Sweden

 

Coffee

 

Session 8, 16:00 – 17:30
So this is freedom? A revolutionary media, or a media in revolution; what now for the independent Arab press?

The concluding session of the Forum will call on delegates to reflect on what they’ve heard during our discussions and present their views on how they see the role of the Arab media in the face of new opportunities and familiar threats. The session will take place in the format of a ‘Tweet Nadwa’. A ‘Tweet Nadwa’ brings the Twitter concept to live debate format. Speakers are allowed only 140 seconds to make their points or respond to questions, with audience members ‘waving’ their approval of comments to symbolise ‘re-tweeting’. Participants are encouraged to tweet for real, with a digital wall relaying thoughts, pictures and videos in real-time.

The ‘Tweet Nadwa’ is the brainchild of Alaa Abd El Fatah, who was inspired to bring the Twitter community into the offline sit-in debates held in Tahrir Square during the Egyptian revolution. Alaa is currently in detention in Egypt.

The Nadwa will be anchored around a panel representing each of the five sessions (either the moderators or another selected speaker). The audience will be encouraged to join in as a larger panel, with the moderator ensuring the conversation flows between both audience and speakers to give the widest number of people the opportunity to share their views.

followed by

Closing Speech:
Larry Kilman, Deputy CEO and Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs, WAN-IFRA

 

Gala Dinner 7.30pm, Ramada Hotel