Media and Digital Literacy Academy of Beirut 2022

LAU Beirut campus

Funded by the Public Affairs Section at the US embassy in Beirut and the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD), MDLAB 2022 will focus on empowering women and youth through media literacy pedagogies and digital/multimedia skills to promote freedom of expression and civic participation. 

MDLAB’s 75 participants come from Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Germany. Among our many guest speakers this year are Clemencia Rodríguez (Temple University), Antonio Lopez (John Cabot University), Jennifer Rosales (Barnard College, Columbia University), Dina Aboughazala (Founder of Egab), Anna Antonakis (Free Berlin University) Gretchen King (Lebanese American University), Jad Melki (Lebanese American University), Ahmed Al-Rawi (Simon Fraser University), Steffen Moestrup (Danish School of Media and Journalism), and others. 

Additionally, in collaboration with Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut, the academy will give workshops on Women, Peace and Security, mainly delivered by Karma Ekmekji, senior policy fellow at IFI and Gretchen King, assistant professor of journalism and communication at the Lebanese American University. The academy will also feature Trust Me Documentary produced by Getting Better Foundation, which is a feature-length film exploring human nature, information technology, and the need for media literacy to help people trust one another, bring them together and create a more resilient population.

This year’s MDLAB will emphasize issues of representation of women, youth and other marginalized groups in the media coverage of protests and civic activism campaigns and advance the digital multimedia skills and knowledge of activists, journalists and media educators in the realm of digital activism and civic participation.

Since its launch, MDLAB has achieved significant milestones in realizing its objectives and goals. So far, MDLAB has succeeded in introducing media and digital literacy to 60 Arab universities and schools in 12 Arab countries.

Detailed Program. 

Before noon lectures are open to the public.

More information on mdlab.lau.edu.lb