WUNRN

LEBANON & IRAQ MEN - FILMMAKING & TV SPOTS ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, GENDER ROLES, MASCULINITIES

PRESS RELEASE

Directing Men Towards Gender Equality

October 21, 2011

Beirut - International Medical Corps (IMC) and ABAAD (Dimensions)-Resource Center for Gender Equality, in collaboration with the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs, are officially announcing the beginning of the “Men Saying No To Violence Against Women” filmmaking workshop for young Iraqi and Lebanese Men.

This filmmaking workshop, implemented in partnership with Wonderbox Productions, will be training 8 Iraqi young men and 8 Lebanese young men on Filmmaking techniques allowing them to share their points of view about the need for men to take a role in ending Violence Against Women (VAW) in their own communities, through T.V. Spot production. This workshop is part of the continuous efforts of ABAAD and IMC in their goal of engaging men and boys in ending VAW in the Middle East. Anthony Keedi, Project Coordinator on the project, stated, “It is a chance for young men to creatively, artistically, and effectively tell stories of VAW in their communities, and say why it is the responsibility of women and men, together, to end such human rights violations. It is a call for action to end VAW for men, from men.”

The workshop will consist of the young men receiving sessions on: theories of VAW, gender roles, masculinities, the filmmaking process, storytelling & scriptwriting, directing, film production, and technical aspects of lighting and camera work. After the sessions, the Lebanese and Iraqi men, working together, will create, direct, and film T.V. spots on the topic of VAW. These spots will be aired on Lebanese and Iraqi T.V. stations during the international “16 days of activism” from November 25^th to December 10^th.

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For more information:

1. Ms. Zeinab Hijazi (Regional Mental Health Coordinator, Middle East of International Medical Corps):

zhijazi@InternationalMedicalCorps.org - +961 70 158461

2. Ms. Ghida Anani (Founder & Director of ABAAD):

ghida.anani@abaadmena.org - +961 3 663052