Libyan CSOs tell powerful messages
Sometimes, a workshop develops into something more than acquiring or practicing skills and allows for new and valuable insights: “It was the first time that the CSO’s of Libya had the possibility to meet,” assures Taha Hussain Elsunni. “Now we know our colleagues from other CSOs and will be able to cooperate with them.” The soft-spoken yet persuasive Vice-President of Musajla, the Club for Dialogue and Debate, is not alone with this notion. “It was beautiful,” enthuses Abdelhakim Ali Elyamani, a skilled VJ and CEO of Tanarout Group for Art and Culture. “I will go back to Benghazi with a lot of experience and a lot of friends.”
Bringing together experienced professionals to hone their skills can be a powerful, enriching experience. A dozen participants from all over Libya came to this Workshop organised by Deutsche Welle Akademie in the frame of the European Union funded project ‘’Media in Libya – Stability through Reconciliation’’ to develop their expertise in presenting their varied humanitarian and volunteer-based projects. They practised telling their stories way beyond the simple transfer of information required, say, at a press conference. Sabah Alghamari, Trainer and PR-Spokesperson at Amazonet, an organization working for the empowerment of women and youth, said she was afraid of cameras. “Now I believe I have the ability to make a Press Conference without any fear,” she assures. “When I made mistakes, the trainers showed me the way to correct them. I love you.”
All participants had moving stories to tell, be it Sabah’s alarming ones about the increasing problem of underage marriage, Tanis Tareq’s eye-opening observations on Tamazight language, or Entesar Ahmed’s moving rendering of her work with children who suffer from mental or physical deficiencies.
Raniya Fathullah Amrajaa, an experienced trainer herself, believes she learnt a lot because the training was so dynamic. Ahmed Mohammed Bazama also laid value on the practical exercises that gave him “extra added value.”
The participants of this workshop recognized the value of each others work and the different ways they presented their projects. They hope to deepen their network and the exchange initiated at the Workshop.