While working for the Anna Lindh Foundation in Alexandria, Egypt, one of my main projects was producing the foundation’s 10 years review. It was a complicated and challenging process of gathering and editing information from various units and teams, creating an appealing and simple narrative from excel spreadsheets and programme reports, selecting images that represent best the diversity of citizens and civil society of 43 Mediterranean countries and struggling with routine summer power cuts in an upper class Cairo neighbourhood while exploring full potential of creative young female Egyptian graphic designers in order to meet strict deadlines. I can now smile remembering that, but it was not all roses back then. Continue reading →
While working with the Anna Lindh Foundation in Alexandria, one of my challenges was creating an online publication for the Anna Lindh Report 2014. Published every three years, the Report combines a Gallup Public Opinion Poll on a sample of 13 000 people across Europe and Southern Eastern Mediterranean (SEM) region, including a wide range of analysis by a network of intercultural experts. It is a pioneering tool for knowledge on cross-cultural relations. Main topics discussed in the research are social change in the Euro-Med; differences and similarities in value systems; the religious factor in intercultural relations; human mobility; the role of culture in Mediterranean relations; intercultural citizenship; the Union for the Mediterranean and regional cooperation.
Such a variety of data and in depths analysis fits well in a printed publication. But what is the best way to present it online? After 10 key findings were defined by my colleagues working on the content, I opted for data visualisation. My choice was Infogr.am, a platform developed by a Latvian start-up allowing to create and share infographics easily. A snapshot of an infographic with some of the main data on mutual perceptions in the Euro-Med region is available below. Quotes and page numbers are added to point you to the full text of the Report . An interactive version of the infographic on 10 Key Findings of the Anna Lind Report is on the Anna Lindh Foundation’s website.
Highlights of the 3rd day include: Strategic debate on Diversity, discussions on ethical cross cultural reporting, a debate of Young Arab Voices representatives with president of the European Parliament Martin Schulz.
Promoting Diversity in the Euro-Med
How to value diversity and share universal values? was the main question of one of the strategic debates that took place on Saturday morning, marking the general line of the third day of the Forum. Father Paolo dall’Oglio, Italian Jesuit priest exiled from Syria by the Assad’s regime, reminded about the ongoing conflict in the country: “Population of Syria have been abandoned by the knowledgeable so called international community. Now it is in a chance to express for the Academy.” He also underlined the necessity to show more support for Syria from civil society organisations by developing initiatives on a common ground, criticising one scale approach for different values: “Our idea or your idea for the civil society must be linked. Society is only healthy when it is like western society. We look for people who look like us. We choose our partners that look like us. I really encourage your society to be a fertile society. Destructive differences can exist not only on different shores of the Mediterranean, but also in the same religious community.
“My country suffers from fundamentalism in all three religions. Can we all be equals? Religion does not represent our identity, we should define a common ground for the identity. When the power embraces religion, there is no diversity.” pointed out Asmae Al Ghoul, Palestinian blogger and women rights activist. “Anthropological changes during centuries have not been properly accepted by my religious community. My concern is how can we reconcile ourselves with this anthropological revolution?” added father Paolo. Continue reading →
Highlights of the 2nd day include: Strategic debate on Mediterranean 2020 based on findings of the Anna Lindh Foundation/Gallup Survey on Intercultural Trends, cooperation models between North and South journalists discussed in Agora workshop on media and artistic events.
Mediterranean 2010: perceptions and challenges
One of the key moments of the second day of the Anna Lindh Forum was Agora strategic debate ‘Mediterranean 2020: Society and Values’ that tackled the current perceptions and attitudes of the citizens from South and North part of the Euro-Med region and the main challenges for current and future cooperation. The debate also suggested a couple of main ideas, highlighting the role of youth as the main resource for future change and development in the Arab region despite being caught in the economic decline following political instability; and the need to change the current economic model for a sustainable future. Continue reading →
