The 2012 International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East took place  on the 12 & 13 June at the Centre International de Conférences Genève in  Geneva, Switzerland.

The Seminar focused on the role of the media in covering different aspects of recent events in Middle East, especially the Arab Spring, and how they relate to the situation in Israel and Palestine.

Seminar programme & Participants biographies

The programme also included a peace concert by the “InTerraPax quintet”
and a screening of the Tribeca Official Selection documentary My Neighbourhood by Just Vision. 

12 June 

Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon Message 

Ambassador Abdou Salam Diallo, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People Message 

Opening session & Panel I:  The prospects for peace approaching the 20th anniversary of the Oslo Accords 

Panel II: How has the Arab Spring affected media coverage of the question of Palestine? & Panel III: The role of women activism and the media in Israeli- Palestinian peace and the wider region

13 June

Panel IV: Civil society in media and film in the Middle East & Panel V: Youth activism in the Middle East evolving attitudes towards and tools for social change and democracy 

Closing session 

H.E Ambassador Alexandre Fasel conclusion remarks

Panel I : The prospects for Peace approaching the 20th Anniversary of the Oslo Accords 

Ambassador Riyad H. Mansour

Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the UN   The Daily Show

Robert Serry

Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process

Daniel Levy 

New America Foundation

Ambassador Jean-Daniel Ruch 

Panel II: How has the Arab Spring affected coverage of the question of Palestine? 

 Gershon Baskin - @gershonbaskin

 Israel Palestine center for research & information   Jerusalem Post articles

 Rula Jebreal - @rulajebreal

Rula Jebreal website

Ghassan Khatib @Ghassankhatib

Bitterlemons.org    Palestine and two states phantom

Panel III: The role of women’s activism and the media in Israeli-Palestinian peace and the wider region 

Amal Alqasem 

Home Front 

Excerpt with Amal Alqasem

Sarah Ahmed Jamal 

Support Yemen - Break the silence

 Courtney Radsch - @courtneyr

Courtney Radsch blog

Mairav Zonszein - @972mag

+972 magazine contributions

Panel IV : Civil society in media and film in the Middle East 

Mira Edelstein

Friends of the Earth Middle East  

Sharon Khalimi - @ThePCFF

The parents Circle-Families Forum

Moriel Rothman - @MorielRothman

The Leftern Wall      Huffington Post contributions

Rula Salameh

 Just Vision    Budrus documentary

Panel V:  Youth Activism in the Middle East : evolving attitudes                               towards and tools for social change and democracy

Joseph Dana - @ibnezra

Joseph Dana’s website   My Neighourhood

Wessam Hammad - @WessamH

The war around us

Mohammed Omer - @Mogaza

Rafah Today

Omar Rahman - @omarrahman

Omar Rahman website 

Ahmed Shihab Eldin - @ASE

ASE website      Huffington Post contributions 

Empire – The network revolution