Under the patronage of His Excellency Culture Minister Esq. Raymond Araygi, and following the joint invitation of the International Center for Human Sciences (CISH) and Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung (HSS) Organization, a youth seminar on the “Media Outlets Role in Lebanon’s Sectarian Situation” was held on the 26^th, 27^th and 28^th of June 2014.

The seminar commenced with the Lebanese National Anthem and a moment of silence in the memory of former MP Manuel Youness, the person behind the idea of establishing the International Center for Human Sciences in Byblos.

During the opening session, speeches were delivered by Minister Araygi’s Consultant and Representative Dr. Albert Jokhdar, Mr. Tony Ghorayeb representing Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung Organization, and CISH’s Director Dr. Adonis Akra.

The opening sessions was followed by four meetings, whereby fifteen researchers and academics looked into the following topics:

1. a) How does religious difference lead to a conflict between the citizens?
2. b) The media and the mission of building the state
3. c) The media and the convergence spaces of religions and religious cultures
4. d) The National Audiovisual Council’s role in accountability and channeling.

And in order to extend the research in all the submitted paperwork, interventions and comments delivered during the four meetings, the speakers and the young participants were divided into three groups to answer a few questions that have the following common denominator:

How can the media be invested to serve the citizenship education?

The seminar concluded the following visions and proposals:

1. Promoting the culture of belonging to “the State of Institutions and Law” as a practical demonstration of the citizenship concept, while relying on the role of schools and universities in citizenship and civism education.

2. Committing and even forcing the audiovisual media to respect the broadcasting standards, in particular avoiding the incitement and sectarian speech and showing violent and frightening scenes, as well as avoiding the promotion of the culture of monopolizing the truth and the disrespect of difference.

3. Adopting a Charter of Honor for the media by the people in charge of the private audiovisual media outlets to reinforce national unity, especially during the fateful circumstances and the impending challenges threatening the region, as Lebanon faces the most dangerous perils.

4. Biding the media to devote a considerable time for the serious and cultural programs which enhances the role of the rational speech in the face of hatred and detestation speech that fuels conflicts and offends the national unity and peace.

5. Allowing a larger space for the civil society by the audiovisual media, since the civil society is nowadays a considerable force in the Lebanese society and is its safety valve.

6. Activating the role of the National Audiovisual Council without limiting the media’s freedom by amending the law 94/382 in order to grant the council decisive prerogatives that allow it to face the sectarian and political protection of the audiovisual media institutions, while creating a monitoring apparatus for the council.

7. Setting regulations for the media that broadcast pure religious material and adopting laws for the advertisements, coded broadcast and the websites that are not submitted to any monitoring.

8. Urging the Parliament to ratify the draft which unifies the media law. This draft law was referred to the parliamentary committees since several years. It regulates the work of all the media outlets.

9. Activating the public (official) media by increasing its financial and human capacities, while praising the role the National News Agency is playing in this field.