Lebanese media play a major role in fostering understanding and peace building but they
can also contribute to fueling conflict during sensitive periods.
In 2013, the United Nations Development Programme in Lebanon produced the
“Journalists’ Pact for Strengthening Civil Peace in Lebanon” in collaboration with the
Ministry of Information. The Pact — a result of an extensive participatory approach that
engaged 32 national media outlets — aims at strengthening media capacity to contribute
to dialogue, conflict sensitive reporting and social cohesion in the country.
To build on the recommendations of the Pact’s media monitoring studies, the UNDP, with
the generous funding of Germany, partnered with Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF)
to develop a media toolkit — a practical training application of the Pact. The objective is
to help media outlets implement the Pact and incorporate it at an institutional level.
Over the course of 2019, TRF trained professionals at media institutions monitored under
the Pact. The Foundation will offer practical applications and recommendations for using
the toolkit. This is in addition to producing a monitoring and evaluation report to identify
any gaps in the skills and knowledge of training participants.