Refugee media and refugees in the media:
Improving the information environment inthe MENA region
Executive Summary | Syria
Evaluation Report | Executive SummarySyria and Lebanon

01 /2017

03 /2017

Background
Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, Syrian refugees have streamed over the border to neighboring Lebanon. In the meantime they account for about a fifth of thepopulation. Politically, Lebanon finds itself in a permanentstate of crisis. Economically, it is mired in a recession. Socialtensions are increasing. The predominantly Arab minority
lives for the most part in a parallel society. As a result theSyrian migrants are a highly vulnerable group of people whoare disadvantaged in many ways. The DW Akademie project“Syrian Refugees in Lebanon” (2016) addresses this issue withthe aim of providing Syrian refugees access to relevant information so that they can publicly exercise their rights. Theaim was addressed with two different sub-projects: Together
with the Syrian NGO Basmeh and Zeitooneh, young Syrian
citizen journalists have been trained to build up and operate
an interactive online platform on youth-relevant topics in
the Shatila refugee camp. The second sub-project focuses onregional dialogue. The Lebanese NGO Maharat Foundation
has been supported to develop and disseminate standards at
the regional level for reporting on flight and migration. The
implementation was mainly done through the organizationof symposia and through an international conference formedia managers from the region. Both sub-projects follow
longer-term approaches making measurable effects at thelevel of the users to be expected only in the next few years.
The project year 2016 was therefore regarded as an orientation year for DW Akademie with a view towards the future
strategy in Lebanon as a focus country.
The purpose of this external evaluation is to provide a constructive assessment of the project results after the completion of the first year in order to integrate learning experience
into the subsequent project proposal. The expert opinion
is based on the OECD/DAC criteria and consists of a mix of
qualitative and quantitative methods, including the analysis
of internally collected data and interviews with project partners in the field as well as project managers of DW Akademie.

2Conclusions and lessons learned
The DAC criteria relevance, efficiency, and impact are judged
as fulfilled. The DAC criterion effectiveness as well as the quality of the management are classified as ‘partially fulfilled,’
as weaknesses were identified in both projects. Potential for
improvement is possible in the next phase. An assessmentof the DAC criterion sustainability is not possible due to theshort duration of the project.
The learning experiences of the DW Akademie team in thecollaboration with Basmeh and Zeitooneh relate in particular
to the first half of the project. The breadth of applicants for thecitizen journalism trainings should be widened, combinedwith more intensive selection processes of the candidates.
Important personnel decisions should be made in consensus
with DW Akademie and project partners. If in the course of
the project a training year is divided into stronger and weakercandidates, the selection should be communicated transparently. The regional project component has highlighted theimportance of a sufficient preparatory period in the application phase in order to be able to adequately include project
partners and media representatives.

RecommendationsBasmeh and Zeitooneh
1. 	Due to the precarious refugee situation, a sufficient number of citizen journalists should be qualified, with a preference for participants who wish to build up a livelihoodin Lebanon.
2. 	The first year of training has shown that it seems more
appropriate for the target group if DW Akademie andits partners concentrate on fewer basic formats, which
are then practiced in more detail and under guidance inorder to ensure safety in the application.
3. 	The online platform Campji should not only point toeducational offers for young people, but also include
such offers themselves, for example in the form of video
tutorials on professional fields.
4. 	As of 2017, the offer of the online platform should be
expanded to a mobile application that allows the user

to react directly to information and to pass on content
to the editorial team.
5. 	In order to increase the range, a linkage of the platform
with the website of Basmeh & Zeitooneh should be considered.
6. 	Important personnel decisions which concern the project
should be made in consensus between DW Akademieand Basmeh and Zeitooneh.
7. 	At management level, cooperation can be improved in
the following areas: definition of responsibilities at themanagement level, adequate time allocation for smoothproject handling, improving communication and, in thecontinuation phase, taking over responsibility by the
project partners from the outset.

Maharat Foundation
8. 	The newly trained VJ-trainers at Maharat should also be
used in the next phase as co-trainers with experienced
colleagues from DW Akademie.
9. A
 s a follow-up to the thematic broad-based Digital Media
Viability Conference, individual aspects of economic
sustainability can be discussed in greater detail (for example, advertising, strategic planning, and target-groupresearch).
10. Subsequent events may also bring together decisionmakers from various media organizations from the Arabworld who are pursuing similar business models to enable
a more in-depth exchange of experiences.
11. The selection and involvement of the media companies
involved is crucial for the training of media consultants
envisaged in the subsequent application. Since this project line is a three-party constellation in which Maharat,
DW Akademie, and media companies are involved as
stakeholders, it should be reflected how the third group
can also be bindingly integrated. In this respect it could beconsidered to draw up Memorandum of Agreements with
the individual media companies. In those then the individual consulting requirements could also be included.

DW Akademie
DW Akademie is Germany’s leading organization for media development and Deutsche Welle’s center of excellence foreducation and knowledge transfer. As a strategic partner of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment we strengthen the universal human rights of free expression, education, and access to information.

Contact
Dr. Jan Lublinski
Head Research and Evaluation
DW Akademie
jan.lublinski@dw.com

DW Akademie
53110 Bonn, Germany

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