Published: 3 July 2013
Country: Egypt
Rasael Alghad foundation, Tanta, an Egyptian NGO that attended an MDI workshop last year, won an award for its successful media campaign on citizenship and human rights.
The award was given by Goethe Institut, a government-funded organisation promoting German culture, and Tahrir Lounge, an initiative founded by Mona Shahien, a young Egyptian political activist.
On the contest launched earlier this year, Tanta presented the media campaign that MDI helped develop during a workshop in Cairo and Menia last December. It ranked second and was awarded a prize for the best media campaign.
The aim of the MDI workshop was to help NGOs in Egypt to understand how they can get their issues and views heard through the media.After being helped to develop outline plans for the campaign they wanted to deliver, 14 associations presented a media campaign as a workshop’s assignment. Only the best eight, among which there was Tanta’s, received further technical support by MDI to carry out their campaigns. Onsite consultancy was given by the trainers Nick Carter, UK regional newspaper editor and media consultant, and Maie Shawky, capacity building and media training specialist
The workshop sessions included identifying which media could be used most effectively to help achieve campaigning success, how to establish effective working relationships with media and the detailed analysis and planning needed to prepare a campaign.
The 55 NGO’s representatives were also taught how to create a media unit inside their organisations and how to tailor messages for maximum impact. Using the full range of resources and contacts inside and out of their organisation was another important lesson.
The workshop was part of the MDI’s two-year project “Rebuilding post-revolution Egyptian Media: Embracing free expression, diversity and Inclusiveness”, supported by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).