As part of Ibsar’s Forest Film Festival which is supported by the USFS and the USAID, a fourth and final session targeting the Media and Communications took place on Oct. 29th, 2011.
Ibsar organized this event within the 16th annual international conference of the Arab-US Association of Communication Educators titled: “Digital and Media Literacy: New Directions.”
The three previous sessions were carried out in June and targeted school children, AUB staff and faculty, as well as Lebanese writers. The media session was conducted in October in order to coincide with the planting season.
Dr. Jad Melki, coordinator of the conference and Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at AUB, opened the session with a few words about Ibsar and gave the floor to Dr. Salma Talhouk who introduced Ibsar Forest Film Festival and its objectives. Ibsar organized the FFF in order to celebrate the International Year of Forests, 2011, as proclaimed by the UN, by raising awareness to the effects of climate change, global warming, and other man-induced threats to forests, nature, and man’s wellbeing. Ibsar hopes that through collaborating with the Media body in Lebanon and the region, the center would be able to successfully raise awareness about the importance of sustainability and nature conservation and reach out to a wider range of people to mobilize them into action and sustainable culture and practices.
The screened films (a total of a few minute clips selected from four different films) were chosen from a list of winning films in the International Forest Film Festival organized by the United Nations Forum on Forest Secretariat (UNFFS) and the Jackson Hole Wildlife Festival. More than 150 media personnel from different media agencies in Lebanon and the Arab world attended the event. The screening was met with enthusiasm as many attendees approached Ibsar with an interest for collaboration.