The New Monthly Webinar Organized by MECC

Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: The danger lies not only in what is said, but also in what is not said, which may enter the collective unconscious and affect the public’s minds and souls

As part of its series of monthly seminars, the Middle East Council of Churches held a new webinar entitled "Media and Stereotyping the Other", on Thursday 29 June 2023, with the participation of specialists, academicians, universities’ students and interested attendees in the topic at hand. Noting that this webinar comes within the framework of the “Human Dignity Project” - “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”, which MECC is implementing consecutively.

The webinar, which was broadcast live on the MECC Facebook Page, included many interventions, moderated by Dr. Lubna Tarabey, who presented in her opening speech an overview of the topic at hand, stressing the importance of preserving human dignity in light of all the materials presented by the media.

The webinar began with a speech delivered by the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, in which he spoke about the media and stereotyping in modern societies, and said, “stereotyping is an idea, a ready-made opinion, accepted without thinking and repeated without being subject to critical examination, by a person or group. It determines, in varying degrees, the ways of people thinking, feeling and behaving through giving them preconceived notions about a group or something."

He added, "The most dangerous fields of stereotyping lie in racism, where the stereotype includes, firstly, the dimension of thinking less or avoiding thinking, for example accepting stereotypes as they are without review or criticism, and secondly, justification, such as judging some groups with certain characteristics, because, on the contrary, I define myself as having the opposite of them. Stereotyping is related to all dimensions of life and it is the strongest, most dangerous and deadly factor on the ethnic and religious levels due to the disastrous consequences it can bring to society."

He continued, "Imagine how much the media is capable of building stereotypes and prejudices, provoking fanatic strife, extremism, fundamentalism, and not accepting diversity and differences between people. O media people, imagine how difficult and dangerous your mission is, in communicating the idea or information, and to be messengers of civil peace that every society needs for its growth and progress."

Dr. Michel Abs ended "The danger lies not only in what is said, but also in what is not said, which may enter the collective unconscious and affect the public’s minds and souls... Very few people have entered the dangerous game, the game of intrigue and playing on stereotypes, prejudices and destructive feelings. As well as, few people have been uttered every day by the overwhelming majority of the messengers of knowledge whom we call, and who proudly call themselves, the media.

Afterwards, the seminar’s interventions started and were delivered by experts from different countries of the region. From Lebanon Dr. Maha Zaraket, a Professor at the Faculty of Information at the Lebanese University, talked about the media and image-building of the Other: an Inevitable Path to Stereotyping. The Journalist Ali Al-Akbar, Presenter and Producer of programs on Al-Manar TV and Al-Nour Radio station, highlighted the concept of the stereotype and the developments of its history. Mr. Sarkis Abou Zeid, a Journalist and Writer, talked about the media and the image of the other. Dr. Chawki Attieh, a University Professor at the Institute of Social Sciences - Lebanese University, touched upon the development of the media and its impact on public opinion.

From Egypt, Dr. Rajaa Salim, a Researcher in International Relations, talked about about the stereotype image presented by the media, as it conveys the image in a way that changes the truth. From Palestine, Dr. Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi, a Researcher and University Professor, shed lights on the Palestinian view of stereotypes and the violations that Palestinians are facing.

Moreover, the speakers provided definitions of media stereotyping, and addressed the dangers of the media in stereotyping and distorting the image of societies, especially through advertisements and various types of materials issued by the media. The speakers also talked about the negative aspects of the media and its effects on the audience, as they presented some examples and discussed ways to avoid these dangers. In addition, they stressed the importance of advocacy through the media in order to ensure the preservation of human dignity and the promotion of moral values in societies.

The webinar ended with a session for questions and discussion between the participants during which they exchanged opinions and experiences, each on according to his and her specialization and field of work.