AMARC Europe: MED NET, Civil Society and Media in the Mediterranean basin

The new project involving AMARC Europe, MED NET – Civil Society and Media  Development, met in Tunis the  28 and 29 October 2013 for its first Regional Seminar.

The project is mainly funded by the European Union and is implemented by COSPE Italy – AMARC Europe, Palestinian Youth Union (PYU) – Palestine, Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement (EACPE) – Egypt,  Association Liberté et Dévéloppement (ALD)- Tunisia and the network  Chabaka in Morocco
The main objectives of the project are to support civil society to create an environment conducive to dialogue, human rights and democratic participation in the Mediterranean region and to strengthen CSOs and independent media at regional level in their role of people’s representation, information, lobbying and advocacy for democratic reforms and freedom of expression and association. The project will end in December 2015. AMARC Europe will be mainly working on the themes of training in community journalism, communication, political participation and representation for CSOs and independent media.

During the regional seminar held in Tunis, the participants presented the first outcomes of the national mapping about the relation between Civil Society and Independent media in each of the four countries (Palestine, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia). Although there are many differences in the associative panorama in the area, one of the common points is the limited capacity of CSOs to communicate with media (public, commercial or community).  The 2nd day has been dedicated to the elaboration of a regional strategy about trainings, advocacy, campaigns, pilot actions in each country.

Very soon a new web site will be launched will all the documentation and outcomes of studies, research and mappings realized during the project.