Understanding the Role of the Media in Peace-making in South Sudan
Date: 30 July 2015
Location: 2:00p.m - 5:30p.m, Gudele Hall, Juba Grand Hotel
Organizer: The Sudd Institute & UNDP
Since the outbreak of the on-going crisis in South Sudan in mid-December 2013, the media in all its forms, has and continues to play a prominent role in the conflict both in positive and negative terms. As expected, the media proves to be a vehicle through which messages of peace and harmony can be disseminated. Equally, it also features as a serious factor in fueling the conflict, a situation that certainly makes it an object of suspicion to both sides of this running military confrontation.
To underscore the importance of the media role in the quest for peace in South Sudan, the Sudd Institute in conjunction with UNDP is sponsoring a public lecture to be delivered by Jok Madut Jok. The lecture will explore the possibility that the media is a positive avenue through which peace could be leveraged as well as highlighting its potential for fanning the conflict, hence a negative force. Towards this, the lecture reviews all sources of information; from print to television, and from online to social media platforms in order to succinctly register the obvious fact that the media is indeed, a double-edged sword. That is, it should be understood as an excellent vehicle for the promotion of peace as well as for inflaming a conflict.
Speaker
Prof. Jok Madut Jok, Senior Researcher, The Sudd Institute
Discussants
Mr. Ateny Wek Ateny, Spokesperson, Office of the President
Col. Philip Aguer Panyang, Spokesperson, SPLA
Mr. Albino Okeny, Senior Journalist (Rtd)
Mr. Koang Pal Chang, News and Program Director, Eye Radio
Moderator
Dr. Leben Moro, Director of External Relations, University of Juba