Jessica Dheere's Page

What motivated you (or your organization) to become involved in peace and conflict resolution?

Studying Latin America as an undergrad, reading about Rwanda in 1994, and moving to Lebanon in 2006.

Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself or the work of your organization (no more than 3 paragraphs)

Last year I founded Social Media Exchange, an initiative dedicated to training NGO personnel, civil society actors, and other advocates and activists in how to use Internet media strategically to meet their needs. For the past two years, basically, I've been trying to learn as much as I can about using media to effect social change.

My background was as a journalist and magazine editor, a position I left in 2005, as I became increasingly dissatisfied with the commercial aspects of the publishing industry. Though I have always like technology and edited my first web publication in 1998 and spoke on a precursor to Skype the same year, it was only after moving to Lebanon, that I finally left the physical print world for the seductive ether of the net.

The Internet in Lebanon was challenging in 2006, when I arrived just after the war with Israel. I had to learn more about how it worked to be able to use it effectively—and complete my master's degree in media studies through online coursework. Since then, it's improved a lot, and now I'm trying to convert as many people as I can to use it strategically for positive social change, peace, self-expression, and civic engagement.

Please list the countries and/or regions in which you (or your organization) have direct and significant expertise

Lebanon and elsewhere in the Arab world

What is your current country of residence (or location of your organization)?

Lebanon

What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?

Citizen media training for peacebuilding and activism

What is your personal or organizational website?

http://socialmediaexchange.org

What is one of your favorite websites in the field? (please provide one answer per box)

http://ict4peace.wordpress.com

What is one of your favorite websites in the field? (please provide one answer per box)

http://globalvoices.org

Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise (or the primary sectoral areas of your organization) ?

Civil Society, Information and Communication Technology, Media, Social Entreprenuership

Which are your primary skills areas(or the primary skill areas of your organization)?

Capacity Building, Communication, Curriculum Development, Program Design, Program Implemenation, Training

What are some of your current areas of research (if any)?

I'd love to start doing some technology usage surveys in Lebanon but don't know where to start.