Febrayer is a media network, based in Berlin, working in and for the Arab region and the Arab communities in the diaspora. Born in 2016, initially as a growing informal coalition of like-minded journalistic and artistic Arab media outlets, the network current member institutions are online media groups operating in Egypt (Mada Masr), Lebanon (Megaphone), and Syria (Al-Jumhuriya Collective), while others operate regionally, covering the Middle East and North Africa (Sowt.com).
In these contexts of conflict, heightened repression, restrictions on free expression, the network has become a voice of reference for critical journalism that upholds values of pluralism, diversity, accountability, human rights and social justice. Taking as its starting point the convergence of popular agency, critical inquiry, and emancipatory values that the 2011 revolutionary moment in the Arab world embodied, the network strives for an Arab journalistic practice that is truly independent, impactful, and sustainable.
Through a multitude of projects and activities, the network functions as a hub for joint production, capacity building, and business development. It provides its members with institutional support, solidarity and advocates for media freedom in the region and around the world. Febrayer is also invested in bringing together the different progressive voices shaping the independent media and knowledge making scene in the region. It does so through editorial collaboration, joint publishing and events’ curation surrounding themes of shared interest. The idea here is not to just host yet another event, or produce yet another publication, but to specifically point to what a progressive position means to questions of freedoms, political change, social justice, economic conditions, gendered knowledge, and cultural production among other issues.
Mimeta’s partnership with the network started in 2022, under the partnership between Mimeta and IRIS. Our support goes towards the network’s core strategic and institutional development, as well as towards the Counter Academy for Arab Journalism. The Academy is a year-long academic program in Arabic where young Arab students are exposed to a journalism that is open to the social sciences, cultural practices and historical contexts. The Academy fosters critical thinking, creativity and curiosity in order to produce meaningful, nuanced and deep journalism in the Arab region.
In a world where the journalism field is governed by tools and techniques, the Counter Academy for Arab Journalism looks into restoring the relevance of deep understanding of socio-political contexts, power dynamics and critical theory of relevance, to the practice of a journalism delivered through intelligent form. In the wake of rising threats to independent voices in the region, Febrayer aims to carve a space where media can speak a new, engaging and influential language and gain traction.
