Today, I’m headed to Beirut, Lebanon for the E-Mediat project, a multi-stakeholder capacity building  project for NGOS and Social Media in the Middle East.   I’ll be sharing insights about the project as it unfolds here on my blog and other social media channels, including #Emediat tag on Twitter.

The project is  a rich opportunity for learning because it is a capacity building project that leverages a networked approach.  I’m the lead for Zoetica where my role is to deliver training, advise on the curriculum and coaching methods,  model transparency, and serve as a sort of meta network weaver.   I have the honor of co-training with some of the best folks doing work in this part of the world.

The E-Mediat project is sponsored by MEPI, US  Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative and was created in response to Secretary Clinton’s announcement of Civil Society 2.0.  The project is being managed by IIE and builds on a highly successful program launched in the Middle East five years ago, Women in Technology that trained over 10,000 women from 9 countries in the Middle East and in collaboration with over 60 training partners.   A true public/private partnership,  the funding partners include Microsoft and craiglist Charitable Fund.

So, here’s a sneak peak of some of the items in my suitcase.

The Train the Trainer’s curriculum cover the networked nonprofit, digital activism, and a lot of tactical and practical sessions on tools, including video.     The good folks at FLIP Video donated 10 refurbished flip cameras for participants.  (Basho, the community manager, was kind enough to charge them up too!)   A big thank you.   In addition, I’m packing my own FLIP Camera and hope to get interviews with members of the in-country teams.

If you’ve been to training, you know that it is a tradition for me to do a book giveaway.  Not just the one I co-wrote, The Networked Nonprofit, but other authors in this space.    When they heard about my trip to Beirut,  Holly Ross from NTEN,  Akhtar Badshah from Microsoft, and Jennifer Aaker, co-author of Dragon Fly, bundled up some books for me pack.  Thank you!

Now, gotta figure out the right plug converter to bring.