2008-10-22
Opinion makers from the Middle East heading for Sweden
On 23 October, 25 young journalists and opinion makers from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank/Gaza will be arriving in Sweden. They are due to take part in the Young Leaders Visitors Program (YLVP), the long-term aim of which is to build a robust network of young leaders and opinion-makers in the MENA region* and Sweden – a network that can help young people pursue issues relating to freedom of expression and human rights. The program is being organized by the Swedish Institute (SI) and will run for three weeks, based in Stockholm.
“Via the Young Leaders Visitors Program, the Swedish Institute is embarking on the highly important task of strengthening the blog movement in the Middle East,” says Javeria Rizvi Kabani, the YLVP Project Manager at SI. “What is also unique about this program is that it has used modern mobile technology, linked to social media, in seeking to establish long-term, sustainable networks.”
The YLVP also seeks to facilitate mutual understanding and to prevent conflicts between Sweden and the MENA countries. The program includes a brief work training period for the Middle Eastern participants at a radio station, a TV channel or a newspaper/magazine. A number of the participants will be also be blogging about their experiences on the Sweden.se (www.sweden.se) website, Sweden's official web portal.
“Several of the participants in the program are high-profile bloggers and journalists who have been handpicked for their skills in influencing public opinion and for their familiarity with new social media,” says Rizvi Kabani. “The Swedish Institute believes they have every chance of influencing the situation in their native countries.”
In their reporting, bloggers and journalists active in the social media field in the MENA region are frequently able to provide alternatives to the carefully doctored information put out by government-controlled media. One example of the impact they can make was when the Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas (who is taking part in the YLVP) documented a case of police brutality with his mobile camera and posted the pictures on his own blog. So many Internet users in Egypt read the blog and protested against the police that the officers involved were subsequently brought to trial.
Since the bloggers in the YLVP are so active in sensitive areas in the MENA region, however, a number of them have been refused exit permits. One was even prevented from travelling by a leg wound sustained while filming in a Palestinian trouble spot.
As part of the YLVP program, each participant will undergo a work training period at a Swedish newspaper, a radio or TV station, a news agency or the like. There they will learn how the place concerned is organised and run, how it uses the Internet and digital technology, and how it reports on the Middle East. It is hoped that these ties will pave the way for a lasting and mutually beneficial relationship between Sweden and Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine by strengthening and bringing together influential voices from both parts of the world.
Read more:
Background (in English): http://www.si.se/ylvp_background
Focus areas (in English): http://www.si.se/ylvp_focus_areas
For further information and press pictures, please contact:
Javeria Rizvi Kabani, Project Manager, tel: 0(8)-453 78 76, email: 
Jenny Hagblom, Press & Information Manager, Swedish Institute, tel: +46 (0)8-453 79 22, mobile: +46 (0)73-684 20 22, email: 
www.si.se
* MENA region = Middle East/North Africa