7amleh – the Arab Center for the Development of Social Media – held four social media training workshops over the last month at the Shatil offices, with participants with a range of experience in fields such as NGO work, campaigns and film

7amleh- the Arab Center for the Development of Social Media, began a Palestinian Activist Network training program, with a focus on providing participants with a specialised skill set and the information necessary to effectively use social media as an advocacy platform.

The training sessions took place at Shatil and were facilitated by 7amleh’s training co-ordinator Rasha Hilwi with sessions by Nadim Nashif (Director of Baladna), Abed Tamish (Graphic & Campaign Designer), Kholoud Tannoun (Photographer & Actress), Hana Quraytam and Fadi Qar’an (via Skype from Ramallah).

The training session produced a supportive network of activists fully prepared to implement social media campaigns and create socio-political change. Rasha Hilwi explains: “The workshops are important as they focus on digital media as a tool for expression and advocacy. This, in turn, allows social media to be a platform for Palestinian voices and personal stories. In the Palestinian case, our stories are covered by the mainstream media but the human element is often overlooked, which means that many Palestinian voices go unheard. The workshop gives people the option to express themselves. This workshop gives people more options. Social media makes it easy to reach out to both the Arab world and to an international audience. It can be used for advocating for the needs and goals of the Palestinian people, as well as an individual platform. The great thing is that social media allows for many different kinds of expression (through visual, sound and written elements). Everyone can use it, it’s just a case of knowing how to.”