"The spread of social media has an increasing impact on peace mediation. It complicates mediators’ efforts to provide a confidential negotiation space. It also provides opportunities for public communication and consultations, allowing peace mediators to engage with audiences that were previously ... out of reach. It also changes the way conflict parties act, the narratives they advance and in some cases the way they fight wars. It is important for mediators to be aware of these dynamics and to prepare accordingly. Despite the changes, social media are unlikely to revolutionize peace mediation. Present and future, just like in the past, it essentially remains a human-driven activity. Peace mediators engage with parties, building trust between them and helping them reach mutually acceptable agreements in situations when developments in the military and political context allow for it." (Conclusion, page 4) more

"A concise overview looking at the approaches, activities, and challenges of governmental, international, and nongovernmental organizations in the field of media and peacebuilding." (commbox)

"In order to get a sound base for its future decisions on the role of media for peacebuilding, the Political Department IV of the Swiss Foreign Ministry has asked the swisspeace Center for Peacebuilding (KOFF) to initiate a process for compiling the current knowledge, existing experiences, and futur ... e challenges in this field. This should support the decision process in the Ministry on how media assistance could play a major role in their endeavor to contribute to peacebuilding efforts. The first step in this process was to commission a study on the state of the art in the field of media and peacebuilding. The second step was to convene a workshop, in which the first draft of the study was presented and discussed by experts and representatives of Swissbased media NGOs. In this workshop the media NGOs were also given the opportunity to present their view of the role and strategic position of media in peacebuilding and formulate the challenges they see for media projects in peacebuilding. The workshop participants also formulated common recommendations and open questions. This report compiles all the workshop’s input and presentations, and it summarizes its recommendations. In combination with the study “Media and peacebuilding: Concepts, actors, challenges” it hopefully contributes to the international debate on the role of the media and supports the ongoing process of reviewing their contribution to peacebuilding efforts." (Introduction, page 1) more