KAPAMILYAS Rosan Cruz of Benpres Holdings Corp. and Zyann Ambrosio of ABS-CBN represented the Philippines in a media workshop at the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center (MCTC) in Israel in October. They joined 23 other representatives from 20 countries for the International Workshop on Media Strategies for Social Change held in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The workshop aimed to analyze the role of media as a tool for social change, review communication theories and advocacy journalism as tools for changing public opinion, and discuss transnational issues. The MCTC was founded in 1958 by former Prime Minister Golda Meir initially to train women from developing and transitional countries and to provide tools for women’s empowerment. It later became the first training center for the International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or MASHAV.

The two-week workshop utilized hands-on training in addition to the lectures from Prof. Rubenstein of the University of Haifa; Prof. Niv Ahituv of the Netvision Institute of Internet Studies and Tel Aviv University; branding specialist Eran Ketter; photojournalist Yaheli Amit; and producer Nir Barav. It was bookended by a geopolitics session with Ambassador Gershon Gan.

These were interspersed with visits to holy sites and a Q&A at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Jerusalem with deputy spokesman Andy David, foreign press and public affairs adviser Mark Regev, and journalists from Israel Post, Channel 2 and Jerusalem Post.

The participants also visited kibbutzim in Beersheba and Dimona, and talked with Iri Kassel of the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute at David Ben-Gurion’s memorial. Israel is noticeably peaceful, with lots of visitors flocking to its famous tourist spots. The workshop concluded with the presentation of case studies on prevailing transnational issues by each team: territorial disputes, global impact of terrorism, media impact on swine flu, challenge to prevent violation of human rights in domestic violence, and the impact of the global crisis on migrant laborers.

Thanks to the diversity of the teams, there was a global perspective of the realities present in each country. The net takeaway of the program is not only the training but also the exchange of learnings among the participants and, through friendship, the possibility of future cooperation and collaboration. The workshop is designed for women and men “who hold positions as journalists, television presenters reporting on socioeconomic issues, public relations officers in service, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and planners of media strategies for grassroots organizations.” If you are interested in a scholarship for the 2010 edition, contact course director Michel Kahn at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .