How does the Syrian photographer Issa Touma use his art and social media to fight from within Syria against the barbarism that overtook his country? And how has social media in general influenced the reporting on the war in Syria?
The war in Syria is the first Social Media War. Every militia has its own YouTube channel and social media network. Syrian peace-activists and citizens also use social media to get news out and to allow dissenting voices to be heard. The European main stream media seem to be mostly focused on sensational headlines on refugees and terrorism.
What impact does this have on the news that we in Europe receive? How do journalists, but also us readers outside of Syria, find and filter their sources within the number and variety of voices and posts from Syria? Can main stream media ensure at all to to be less sensation driven?
After an interview with Issa Touma we will discuss these questions with him, several media-experts and journalists, and with the audience.
About the Speakers
Issa Touma, a photographer, cultural animator and founder of Le Pont Gallery, has devoted himself to preserving Aleppo’s urban culture. In 2012, he initiated Art Camping. A collaborative programme in the form of workshops, it attempts to counter the violence of the conflict by encouraging young people from various religious and ethnic backgrounds to express themselves through art and culture. Touma gained recognition from his “9 days – From My Window in Aleppo” film (directed and edited by Floor van der Meulen and Thomas Vroege) and ‘Women We Have Not Lost Yet” photography project, which was showcased for the first time in the exhibition “Women We Have Not Lost Yet and other stories from Aleppo” organized by Paradox at Castrum Peregrini in Amsterdam on September 12-27, 2015.
Further with o.a. Esseline van de Sande (One of the founders of The Great Middle East Platform), Ivonne Louw-Dekker (International Communication and media at the Hogeschool van Utrecht), Huib de Zwaan (Freelance Journalist and Guest Correspondent Energy & Geopolitical conflicts at De Correspondent) and Ferry Biedermann (former Middle East correspondent for the Financial Times. He is currently working as Middle East analyst for IHS Jane’s).
About this Program
This Program is organized by Paradox, DeepFocus WebDocs and Humanity House.