LESSON PLAN: Media Activist Procedures and Policies in the MENA Region

DURATION: Around 50 minutes

Overview & Learning Outcomes

Overview
In this lesson, participants are introduced to the formal and informal procedures and policies that guide media activism in the MENA region. After reviewing the case studies, participants will work together in small groups to identify different media activist organization, access, and participation practices. Through a concluding discussion, participants will identify the common threads between the various case studies.

Learning Outcomes
Participants will:

• Begin to develop an understanding of the formal and informal procedures and policies that guide media activism in the MENA region
• Identify commonalities among the different organization, access, and participation practices used by MENA media activists

Preparation & Materials

Step 1. Create six pads for participants to collaboratively edit text in small groups
Use pen and paper or any online pad such as: http://demo.firepad.io/

Step 2. On the six pads, include one case study link on each for participants to review collaboratively and answer the questions provided in the procedure below

• GROUP 1 – Lebanon Case Study
• GROUP 2 – Palestine Case Study
• GROUP 3 – Iraq Case Study
• GROUP 4 – Egypt Case Study
• GROUP 5 – Jordan Case Study
• GROUP 6 – Tunisia Case Study

Procedure

Step 1. Divide participants into six small groups (ideally 3-4 people each)

Step 2. Assign each group a case study and provide access to their pad

Step 3. Participants will work in small groups for 15 minutes, reviewing the case studies and identifying practices that help them answer the following questions:

• What formal and informal policies and procedures guide your case study’s organizational practices – how do they do what they do?

¤ How do these practices impact the accessibly of media content?
¤ How to these practices foster participation among media users?
¤ How do these practices maintain independence or support sustainability?

Step 4. Facilitate a 25 minute discussion with participants. Use the questions above to guide the discussion so participants can share the outcomes of their research.

Step 5. Facilitate a 10 minute concluding discussion with participants that identifies the common threads between the various case studies. Ask participants:

• What common practices can be identified between the case studies?
• How do these media activist procedures and policies differ from mainstream or hegemonic media?