The Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Jordan, in cooperation with the American University of Madaba (AUM), held on Monday, October 31, a training workshop for young people enrolled in Philadelphia University, Yarmouk University, the Hashemite University, the German-Jordanian University, and the AUM in Madaba touching on the topic, “Media in the Service of Harmony”.
Opening the workshop, CCSM Director Fr. Dr. Rif’at Bader said, “The modern media and communications outlets are nothing but tools designed to serve noble goals that stem from our humanitarian and religious message which aim at promoting the values of dialogue, acceptance of others, solidarity, and close ties among all people. We pave this way with the support and directives of the country’s leader, His Majesty King Abdullah II, who stressed the need to maintain them as means of communication rather than of quarreling.
He pointed that this workshop is held within the framework of training workshops initiated by the CCSM in the past years, out of the conviction in its societal role regarding forming a mature and conscious mindset that encourages the ideal and optimal use of social media or modern means of communications as tools that promote community peace and respect for human dignity free from deviations leading to hate speeches, fanaticism and exclusion of others.
For his part, AUM President Professor Mamoun Akroush, indicated that Jordan is one of the leading countries in enhancing societal and global harmony, pointing out that there are three main pillars upon which the state of Jordanian harmony is based, namely Muslims, Christians, and the relationship between them within the framework of citizenship, brotherhood, solidarity, and the Hashemite leadership that takes care of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in noble Jerusalem.
He added that in all his speeches and discussion papers, His Majesty the King has always called for dialogue on many vital issues including the issue of harmony and media, in order to promote common living and to emphasize the concepts of fraternity and the need to invest all possible means, especially in the media, to attain the well-being of peoples and homelands in all aspects of life.
Mrs. Hiam Al-Zughair, president and founder of C-Path Company, which supervises the training, gave an address in which she stressed the importance of the youth in supporting societies as well as in attaining a bright and a prosperous future in their capacity as the real treasure of this society and its prestige.
During the training workshop, the two trainers Kifah Khamis and Hiba Abu Shawareb touched on several theoretical and practical aspects of using social media to promote harmony. They also showed that differences in ways of expression and thinking are not to exclusively be viewed as elements of contention, but rather can be invested in serving the common good of society within the framework of plurality through the sound use of media.
By Munir Bayouk/ en.abouna.org
