Okeil: We recommend opening a dialogue with official and unofficial media outlets in Europe and Arab countries to raise awareness to confront rumors and misleading information

Marina Samy: Maat will work to continue working on activities that ensure Project sustainability through tools that reveal information falsification and fabrication

Maat for Peace, Development, and Human Rights participated in the International Youth Conference of Citizen Journalism Project, which took place in Athens, Greece. The Conference brought together representatives from the project consortium, consisting of seven countries (Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Albania, Egypt, Tunisia, and Jordan), as well as experts in politics and media. Various stakeholders and young individuals interested in media education, digital skills, and community participation, along with winners of International Youth Citizen Journalism Competition, were also in attendance.

Conference covered several important topics, including media disinformation during the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. It emphasized the significance of citizen journalism and the need to promote media literacy and initiatives aimed at combating misinformation in the seven partner countries of the project. The event also highlighted the role of digital skills among young people as a means of community participation and effective engagement in democratic processes. Additionally, the conference showcased the achievements and successes of the project thus far, as well as the various initiatives that emerged from competition.

During his speech, Ayman Okeil, an international human rights expert and Chairman of Maat, addressed the information conflict arising from armed conflicts such as those in Gaza and Ukraine. He emphasized that proliferation of rumors and misleading news on the internet has led to an increase in sources and perspectives through citizen journalism, pointing out the challenges of verifying information, ensuring accuracy, and avoiding bias, which the Citizen Journalism Project aims to address.

Okeil recommended engaging in dialogue with both official and unofficial media outlets at the European and Arab levels, raising awareness, and building the capacities of young people to combat false and misleading information. He also stressed the importance of developing a sustainability plan for the project.

Marina Samy, Director of Media Unit at Maat and Coordinator of Citizen Journalism Project, discussed the Association role in organizing training exercises to enhance media awareness, through modern methods and mechanisms that verify authenticity of messages circulated on social media and internet. “Samy” emphasized the need to continue working on activities that ensure Project sustainability, such as learning processes with tools that expose the processes of falsification and manipulation of information, as well as building the capabilities of youth in Egypt and Arab countries to practice citizen journalism as a positive means of community participation.

It is important to note that Citizen Journalism Academy project is funded by the European Commission's Erasmus+ program. Its main objectives are to raise media literacy, promote citizen journalism, and enhance digital skills among young people as a means of community participation. The project involves participation of seven partner organizations from seven different countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Albania, Jordan, Egypt, and Tunisia.