IAME and GMK held their joint webinar on Saturday 21 November 2020 in the framework of the GMK 37th Forum for Communication and Culture: “Media Culture and Public”.
This live webinar took place in cooperation with the International Association for Media Education (IAME) and is funded by the EU initiative Klicksafe.
Webinar’s summary
Together we are stronger – International perspectives on the power of social movements and media education
Social media facilitate movements by contributing to the dissemination of uncensored information. The examples of Minbar Chat, a women’s rights movement during the revolution in Sudan (presented by Maha Bashri) and a worldwide study on progress-promoting groups (questions to Ingrid Volkmer) showed how digital media can strengthen the cohesion of those affected and promote political and social movements.
Both the speakers and the audience discussed the advantages and disadvantages of these new ways of communication. Maha Bashri underlined the simplicity of access, the possibility to express needs and complaints and to feel like a group. Ingrid Volkmer stressed the positive impact of transnational movements due to the different perspectives. But both speakers criticised the dependence on American platforms and their lack of protection of privacy, which can result in shutdowns by national governments and arrests. Media educators argued that groups often remain in their bubble and use social media for non-democratic influence. The result was that social media are not a panacea for movements towards more peace and freedom.
Speakers:
- Dr. Maha Bashri, University of South Carolina in the US. /United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi
- Prof. Dr. Ingrid Volkmer, University of Melbourne, Australia
Moderation:
- Dr. Ida Pöttinger, GMK Fachgruppe Global Media Education
- Dr. Daniela Cornelia Stix, Universität zu Köln