This six-week online course consists of six core modules, three optional Zoom sessions, and a strong focus on reflective practice, collaborative learning, and community building throughout. It provides a concise introduction to the practical elements of creating and using clear and impactful media and communications for peace. It covers essential tools and techniques at every stage — from conceptualisation and preparation to production and dissemination — empowering you to achieve optimal results and effectively engage a broader audience. Whether you are a communications specialist, journalist, writer, researcher, educator, activist, or someone interested in conveying ideas and actions more effectively, this course is designed for you.
Course Summary
Format: Online CourseStart Date: Monday, November 4, 2024
Duration: 6 Weeks
Time Commitment: 3 to 6 hours per week
Cost: On a sliding scale from $25 to $100 or more if you can afford it. Tickets are non-refundable!
Course Summary
Format: Online CourseStart Date: Monday, November 4, 2024
Duration: 6 Weeks
Time Commitment: 3 to 6 hours per week
Cost: On a sliding scale from $25 to $100 or more if you can afford it. Tickets are non-refundable!
About The Course
The course is structured around three components: 1) A Six-week Online Course; and 2) Three Interactive Live Sessions.
1) Six-week Online Course:
The course consists of six core modules, covering the following:
- How to Consume, Critique, and Interact with Media
Critically reflect on the influence of mainstream media, learn to analyze and challenge pro-war media biases, and gain strategies to advance media for peace.
- How to Get Peace into Corporate Media
Explore the challenges and opportunities of promoting peace narratives in corporate media, and learn how to craft persuasive messages and build relationships with media outlets.
- How to Create Media: Text
Learn practical writing, editing, and storytelling techniques for crafting impactful articles, blogs, and accounts that effectively communicate peace ideas and actions.
- How to Create Media: Photographs, Videos, Audio
Gain practical skills in creating and editing multimedia content, and discover how to use photography, video, and audio to communicate compelling peace-focused stories.
- How to Create Media: Graphics
Learn to design engaging visual content that amplifies peace messages, and discover tools and techniques for effective graphic creation.
- How to Create Media: Social Media
Learn how to use social media platforms to promote peace, build your online presence, and engage with audiences to spread your message widely.
This course is 100% online and interactions are not live or scheduled, so you can take part whenever works for you. Weekly content includes a mix of text, images, video, and audio. Online discussion forums provide spaces for mutual learning and exchange, where facilitators and participants can ask questions, share challenges faced, and explore issues relevant to the weekly content. Facilitators also provide feedback on optional assignment submissions.
Time commitment/expectations: How much time you spend and how deeply you engage is up to you. At a minimum, you can expect to spend between 1-2 hours a week if you only review the weekly content. We hope you’ll engage in the online dialogue with peers and experts, as this is where the real richness of the learning occurs. Depending on your level of engagement with the online discussion you can expect to add another 1-3 hours a week. Finally, participants are encouraged to complete all six optional assignments (required to earn a certificate). This is an opportunity to further engage with and apply the ideas explored each week. Expect another 2 hours a week if you pursue these options.
2) Three Interactive Live Sessions:
The three 1-hour optional Zoom calls are designed to facilitate a more interactive and real-time learning experience:
- Zoom Call #1: Introductions
Tuesday, November 12, 2024 • 09:00 AM • Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00)
- Zoom Call #2: Reflections on the course thus far
Tuesday, November 26, 2024 • 1:00 PM • Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00)
- Zoom Call #3: Course Reflections. What next?
Tuesday, December 12, 2024 • 11:00 AM • Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00)
- Build capacity. Improve your skills in critical thinking, media literacy, and effective communication, while leaning the principles, practices, and methods of peace journalism.
- Practical application. Put your learning into practice through optional assignments and interactive activities.
- Build your network. Engage and exchange ideas and practices with a globally diverse cohort of peers who are connecting around issues of peace and war.
- Expert-guidance. Learn with and from distinguished guest facilitators, as well as World BEYOND War staff and board members, who bring decades of experience in peace and anti-war education, activism, and communications.
- Network expansion. Join a vibrant global community dedicated to ending war, including access to the 2900+ strong alumni network whose members meet regularly in spaces for dialogue, learning, and professional growth.
- Stay inormed. Access an extensive array of peace and anti-war resources to inform and guide your present and future endeavours.
- Create content. Leverage diverse communication methods – including written, digital, audio, and video – to amplify your work and engage with a broader audience.
- Earn a certificate. Receive certification as evidence of your learning and achievements from an award-winning anti-war organization.
- Future opportunities. Become involved in the broader work of World BEYOND War by creating or joining WBW chapters and affiliates around the world, where you can access additional support to inform your peace work.
- Digital literacy: Enhance your ability to use digital tools and platforms for effective media production and dissemination in an increasingly digital world.
More facilitators will be announced shortly. Stay tuned for updates!
Facilitator: Alessandra Granelli
Alessandra Granelli is World BEYOND War’s Social Media Manager. (Add..) |
Facilitator: Marc Eliot Steinr
Marc Eliot Stein, World BEYOND War’s Technology Director, is based in New York City. Marc is a father of three and a native New Yorker. He has been a web developer and coder since the 1990s, and over the years has built sites for Bob Dylan, Pearl Jam, the international literary site Words Without Borders, the Allen Ginsberg estate, Time Warner, A&E Network/History Channel, the US Department of Labor, the Center for Disease Control and Meredith Digital Publishing. He has hosted and produced the World BEYOND War podcast since January 2019, and launched World BEYOND War’s “No Bases Map” in 2022 with Mohammed Abunahel. He is also an amateur opera singer and a writer, and for years has maintained a popular literary blog called Literary Kicks using the pen name Levi Asher (he still runs the blog, but has ditched the pen name). “I’m a latecomer to political activism. It was the Iraq War and the atrocities that followed that woke me up. I’ve been exploring various tough topics on a website I launched in 2015, http://pacifism21.org. Speaking out against war can feel like shouting into a void, so I was thrilled to come to my first World BEYOND War conference (NoWar2017) and meet other people who have been active for this cause for a long time.”” |
This course is designed for anyone interested in understanding, creating, and using media and communications. It is particularly well-suited for:
- Educators and activists looking to engage more people, more effectively in their efforts and to use media strategies to amplify their work.
- Communications professionals responsible for crafting and disseminating compelling content that informs, educates, and inspires, including content creators, writers, journalists, and other media specialists
- Journalists, writers, and researchers who want to stay updated on the latest trends in peace and conflict, as well exploring the principles, practices, and methods of peace journalism in contrast to war journalism.
- Individuals eager to understand the impact of mainstream media on politics, policy, practices, and public opinion.
- Anyone looking to acquire new skills or enhance their existing competencies in creating and using media and communications.
Whether you are new to peace and anti-war work or seeking to deepen your expertise, you will emerge from this course equipped with valuable knowledge, practical tools, and an expanded network to support your professional and personal goals. Participants will come from diverse backgrounds and fields, including NGOs/INGOs, academia, civil society, government, think tanks, the private sector, media outlets, and the general public.
