PrintTheo Dolan
Senior Program Officer, Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding
Contact
Please submit all media inquiries to interviews@usip.org or call 202.429.3869.
For all other inquiries, please call 202.457.1700.
Languages: German and French
Theo Dolan is a Senior Program Officer at USIP’s Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding. Prior to joining USIP, he served for two years as a Media Specialist for the Public Sector Governance team at the World Bank Institute (WBI). At WBI, he focused on promoting access to public information and strengthening the role that media plays in establishing accountability and governance. Dolan spent the previous five years working on media development projects at the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX), a Washington-based NGO. Specifically, he managed projects designed to strengthen independent media in Europe, Eurasia and the Middle East/North Africa through training and business management assistance. He also directed the publication of the Media Sustainability Index (MSI), an in-depth study of media development in 20 countries in Europe and Eurasia and 14 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
Dolan holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College.
Publications & Tools
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To honor this worldwide event, USIP presents some highlights of peacebuilding around the world in 2011. |
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Salam Shabab (Peace Youth) is a unique reality TV series filmed in Iraq that brought together youth from six provinces of Iraq to compete for a chance to become youth “Ambassadors of Peace.” The views of young Iraqis participating in Salam Shabab, along with new surveys on youth perspectives, have begun to create a potential profile of the next generation of Iraqi leaders. |
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Rhymes and rhythms can share ideas across cultures, and that is just what the Arab Hip Hop artists at the event, “Rhymes of Peace: Arab Hip Hop Artists on Youth and Media,” emphasized through their performances and discussions at the United States Institute of Peace. The Narcicyst, along with hip hop artists Omar Offendum and Mana, participated in the forum. Countries: Afghanistan, Canada, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, United States
| Issue Areas: Arts and Peacebuilding, Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding, Youth and Peacebuilding
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Iraqi media stakeholders have identified media incitement to violence as a crucial issue, especially during election periods. As a result, USIP’s Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding convened a conference on September 25-26, 2009 to explore the complex issue and to identify specific action points for mitigating inflammatory coverage in Iraq. |
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The guidelines are designed as a self-regulatory tool for media to gain awareness about the dangers of inflammatory language in reporting on elections. This Arabic resource, which includes suggested alternatives to facilitate more conflict-sensitive reporting, has been distributed to Iraqi media outlets and government offices prior to Election Day in Iraq. Countries: Iraq
| Issue Areas: Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities
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In order to address some of the challenges facing youth in Iraq, USIP and its Iraqi partners created a multimedia program that provides Iraqi teenagers with tools that can help them grow into independent, empowered citizens within a complex society. In April 2009, USIP’s Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding organized an expert working group in Erbil, Iraq to discuss various peace media programming relevant for Iraqi youths. |
Events
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January 25, 2012
In Iraq, "Salam Shabab" is the very first peacebuilding television program depicting the real life story of Iraqi youth. The series showcases not only a population that is often marginalized, but also the powerful desire and capacity of Iraqi youth to bring peace to their communities. The afternoon featured an exclusive screening of one episode from Season 1 of Salam Shabab, which aired in full on Iraq on Al Iraqiya and throughout the region on Space Power. A Q&A session with the show's producers followed the screening. USIP then welcomed a panel of dynamic young cultural leaders and activists from across the Middle East to discuss the role of youth in peacebuilding in the region. The evening concluded with a live performance by Iraqi pop band UTN1. Countries: Iraq
| Issue Areas: Arts and Peacebuilding, Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding
| Programs: Students
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October 27, 2010
In a unique opportunity to explore how music and the media can serve as platforms to speak out against injustice and for peace, Arab hip hop artists the Narcicyst and Omar Offendum will perform their latest works and participate in a discussion at USIP with Manal Omar, director of Iraq Programs and Theo Dolan, senior program officer at the Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding. Countries: Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian Territories
| Issue Areas: Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding, Youth and Peacebuilding
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March 9, 2010
Despite the challenges facing the next generation of Iraqis, many Iraqi youth are generally positive about their futures. This event will consider some of the ways these young people are contributing to their communities, with a particular focus on USIP's work with Iraqi youth and partners in education, media and civil society sectors. Countries: Iraq
| Issue Areas: Education, Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding, Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding, Youth and Peacebuilding
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February 3, 2009
Distinguished panelists and citizen journalists around the world to discuss the role of media in public diplomacy. |