The Summer School “Media and Conflict Resolution” is an international event organized by AREACORE – the Arab-European Association of Media and Communication Researchers. Held from August 25-30 in Berlin, the event was a collaborative effort involving Freie Universität Berlin, Paris-Lodron University Salzburg, and eight Arab partner universities from Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco. The Summer School gathered students, researchers, and media professionals from all these countries to collectively explore the role of media in societal conflicts and wars.
The central aim of the Summer School was to explore different perspectives on societal conflicts and analyze how media can either contribute to resolving or is exacerbating these conflicts. Participants focused on research sub-themes such as media and migration, forced displacement, media production in exile, and the role of disinformation and media control in times of conflict and war. Two preliminary online sessions held in May prepared participants for these projects, allowing them to work in multinational groups. The stay in Berlin was then used to delve deeper into these topics and complete the project work.
The Summer School concluded with participants presenting their research findings through short documentary films or podcasts. These creative outputs highlighted the complex and often challenging relationship between media and conflict, offering nuanced perspectives on the issues explored during the program.
