Call for Participation: Training workshop on

“Social media and advocacy campaign for Sustainable environment in Lebanon” (at UNESCO Beirut- Bir Hassan, 6-9 November 2012) (Deadline: October 10, 2012) CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS UNESCO Beirut is launching a call for participation to a four-day training workshop on “Social media and advocacy campaign for Sustainable Environment in Lebanon”. The workshop will take place at UNESCO Beirut- Bir Hassan, from 6 to 9 November 2012. ISSUE Global environmental change includes processes such as biodiversity loss, freshwater scarcity and climate change. Understanding of the complexity, interconnectedness and sensitivity of social systems, ecosystems and their interfaces is needed to address and plan for the environmental change. The challenges associated with the change are not “outside” human societies – they are an integral component of their functioning. It has been well recognized since the first Rio Earth Summit in 1992 that sustainable development has inseparable social and environmental pillars. It is now increasingly clear that every social challenge is in some respect environmental, and that every environmental challenge is in some respects social. Global environmental change is therefore a major contemporary driver of social transformation, and its effects are expected to grow through coming decades – possibly to the point of calling into question not just growth and prosperity but social inclusion and the realization of human rights. It thus gives rise to ethical challenges that need to be grasped within a framework of forward-looking critical thinking. UNESCO addresses ethical and social challenges arising from global environmental change by promoting a participatory and evidence-based policy process in the Arab region.

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ABOUT THE TRAINING WORKSHOP Ø The four-day training workshop gives an introduction on campaigning and advocacy with regards to the environmental issues in Lebanon. Ø Participants are expected to improve their knowledge and skills to better advocate for environment issues using different tools in particular social media. Ø The four-day training will be a mixture of analytical and interactive sessions through presentations, group work and discussions, covering following topics: 1) Campaigning (what is campaigning why do we campaign, and what are the

challenges in campaigning)

2) Tools, communication and creative ways to reach people, including social

media.

3) Applying the campaigning tools on an Environmental issue 4) Advocacy – how to involve people Ø The training will be given in Arabic. No translation will be provided. Ø The training will be given by a team of trainers from ActionAid Denmark, an international NGO which fights against poverty and injustice by promoting the political empowerment of the world's poor. The Global Platform Jordan is its training department in the Middle East and North Africa.

PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS The applicants should fill some of the following criteria. - Men and women residing in Lebanon, below 35 years - Working as an Information and communication officer of Social Development and Environmental CSOs/CBOs - Working as journalists in Media institutes dealing with environmental topics. - Having active experiences in civil society organizations on Environment issues - Having interests, knowledge and experiences in communication, journalism, advocacy and policy process on social development issues, preferably related to environment issues - Being committed to participate the entire workshop programme (4 days) - Fluent in Arabic. SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS The organiser will select up to 30 participants. All interested applicants should send an application form (English) to UNESCO Beirut ([email protected]) by Friday, 10 October, 2012. Late applications will not be considered. Only selected participants will be contacted by 20 October, 2012. FEES Participants are not required to pay any training fees. Lunch will be served. FURTHER INFORMATION

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Further questions can be addressed to Ms. Rita Menassa, Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO Beirut ([email protected]).

APPLICATION FORM: Training workshop on “Social media and advocacy

campaign for a sustainable environment in Lebanon” (at UNESCO Beirut- Bir Hassan, 6-9 November 2012) (To be submitted to: [email protected], by October 10, 2012) 1- Personal Information First/ Last Name Current Professional Title Name of Organization Educational Background- (Last degree and specialization) Date of Birth, and Age Gender

DD/MM/YY (

Years)

Female/ Male

Address/ Residence Email Telephone

2- How does this training workshop relate to your current work?

3- Please elaborate your experiences in promoting environmental sustainability.

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4- Please elaborate your experiences in advocacy and campaigning?

5- Please elaborate your expectations for the training workshop.

I hereby apply to participate in the workshop and confirm my commitment to participate in the entire training workshop (6-9 November, 2012).

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Date/ Signature: _______________________________________

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