Sahafa Med, research symposium and opening evening… Relive the first day of the Assises du journalisme de Marseille.
On Monday, Sahafa Med stopped off at the Mucem (Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée) in Marseilles for a rich exchange of views between journalists from the southern Mediterranean. At a time when geopolitical upheavals are fracturing the world, the media and independent journalists had the opportunity to discuss and collectively rethink the modalities of partnership and cooperation in the service of journalism and reliable information. Over a four-year period, almost 2,000 journalists from the southern Mediterranean were able to discuss these issues thanks to Sahafa Med, a project co-financed by the European Union.
At the beginning of the afternoon, researchers and university professors met at Aix-Marseille University to discuss a major question: “How are changes in the economic, social and political spheres in the various countries of the Mediterranean redefining the challenges of independent news media?”
Syria, time for hope?
Since Bashar Al-Assad’s departure, “we’re full of joy, and at the same time paralyzed by the future. Because the new leaders do not represent the Syrian population”, confided Omar Youssef Souleimane, a French-Syrian writer, to the 300 people present this Monday evening in the amphitheatre of the Mucem (Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée).
On the opening evening of the Agora for Journalism in Marseille, the topic of discussion was Syria, and the reasons to hope for a better future for the population. A special tribute was also paid to the journalists who risk their lives to cover the conflicts south of the Mediterranean.
“I would like to remember those who were murdered for speaking out. […] Marseille will always be a refuge for those who protect and defend knowledge”, insisted the Mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, while Her Highness the Princess of Jordan, Rym Ali, spoke of the importance of media and information literacy, “sometimes seen as a luxury“ in some countries, when it is “on the contrary, a democratic imperative“.
The Lebanese newspaper L’Orient Le Jour was awarded the medal of the City of Marseille, to the applause of Paul Morcos, Lebanon’s Minister of Information. “Without politically and economically independent media, there can be no informed debate,” he declared.
