More than 200 participants representing diverse youth groups, NGOs, social media enthusiasts, and activists from civil society in Lebanon, contributed to organizing and presenting sessions at Share the MADness BarCamp last Saturday. The BarCamp was marked by the diversity of its participants who came from various regions in Lebanon: Beirut, Akkar, Tripoli, Baalbeck, West Bekaa, Alley, Saida, Sour, Nabatiyeh, and Aita Chaab.

This event was organized by SMEX and it’s social media training program MADskills in partnership with AUB Media Studies, AltCity, AddWork, Annahar, ArabNet, E-MediaT, Girl Geek Camp, Greenpeace, Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training (LOST), Ma3bar, n-site, Naharnet, and YASA.

BarCamp is an interactive user-generated conference (or unconferences) where everything is transparent, adaptable, and definitely breaks the speaker/audience formula to practical discussions.  A Wiki is the main platform to organize a BarCamp. The day-long event gathered participants/campers to learn and share their experiences on the use of social media tools and tactics to support their campaigns. Several campers suggested to give sessions and the voting process determined the schedule for the rest of the day. A total of 27 different sessions were given throughout the day, each of which was limited to 50 minutes.

The day ended with MADskills graduation ceremony of 29 social media trainers who have been developing their skills on the use of social media for advocacy and development.

Check the photo set on flickr that were taken at the event: Share the MADness BarCamp Lebanon

If you attended the BarCamp, please share your feedback about the BarCamp experience.