Afghanistan held its first national social media summit from September 22-23, 2013 in Kabul. The summit brought together over 260 participants from 24 provinces to discuss trends in social media use and its impact in Afghanistan. Over two days, the summit consisted of interactive workshops, panels with 25 speakers, and discussions on key topics such as the responsibilities of social media, its growing influence, and its potential for social change. The summit received extensive media coverage both in Afghanistan and internationally. Overall, the summit provided an important platform to discuss the rapid growth of social media in Afghanistan and ways to maximize its benefits and address its challenges.

1. P AND: AFGHANISTAN’S
AIW
FIRST NATIONAL SOCIAL
MEDIA SUMMIT
22-23 September 2013
SUMMIT REPORT
Afghanistan’s First Social Media Summit

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pref
ace: Notes from the Organizers
Paiwand was an event six months in the making.
1.
Pref
ace: Notes from the Organizers
2.
P and by the Numbers
aiw
3.
The Final Schedule
4.
Key Takeaw
ays
a.
Trends
b.
Suggestions
5.
Coverage
6.
Acknowledgements
7.
What’s Next?
Eileen Guo
Paiwand Director
Paiwand Emcee
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P AND: AFGHANISTAN'S FIRST NATIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA SUMMIT
AIW
SUMMIT REPORT
22-23 September 2013
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3. P and by the numbers
aiw
262 29
Total P
articip
ants
(including VIPs, journalists, speakers, and p
articip
ants]
24
provinces
represented
interactive
workshops
30
25
speakers
160 5
Total P
articip
ants
selected to attend
p and
aiw
P AND: AFGHANISTAN'S FIRST NATIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA SUMMIT
AIW
joining
via video
Women
03
speakers
conference
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22-23 September 2013
04

4. p
articip
ants by province
Key takeaw
ays: TRENDS
W
Name of Province
Herat
Helmand
Farah
Ghor
05
P AND: AFGHANISTAN'S FIRST NATIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA SUMMIT
AIW
number of Attendees
101
17
6
5
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Social media is not just for fun, it also carries real
responsibilities
For all of you [who are literate], p
articularly the
youth here at the summit, you are responsible for
those who do not have the f
acilities or ability to
create new initiatives in this country.”
Renaud Meyer, Senior Deputy Country Director for the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP)
The Afghan government is taking notice of the Internet
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22-23 September 2013
06

5. Social media has broad-ranging imp
act across Afghan
society
Social media has the potential to do great things, but it
also has negative effects as well
Social media use in Afghanistan will only grow
A cross between the ted conferences and an
'unconference', P and: Afghanistan's First National
aiw
social media summit w an event unlike anything
as
Afghanistan has ever seen before.
07
P AND: AFGHANISTAN'S FIRST NATIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA SUMMIT
AIW
SUMMIT REPORT
22-23 September 2013
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6. Massoud Hossaini, Puliter Prize Winning Photographer, giving a workshop on 'visual storytelling'
The event was covered by national and international
Press, including our exclusive tv partner, 1TV.
Women were both present and active throughout the summit, and had the special
opportunity to discuss gender issues in a closed, women's-only focus group discussion.
09
P AND: AFGHANISTAN'S FIRST NATIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA SUMMIT
AIW
SUMMIT REPORT
22-23 September 2013
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7. The Taliban is active on social media, with many
implications for Afghan society
Social media is the best platform for citizens, especially
youth, to get their voices heard
“Of those who use our F
acebook p
age, 45 percentof
them are between 18-24 years old, and 35 percent
of them are between 25-34. This indicates that the
younger generation in Afghanistan is active in the
use of social media.”
Adela Raz Deputy Spokesman to President Karzai
Social media can be used as a tool for social activism
'If war is the answer we are asking the wrong question.'
Kabir Mokamel OF Kuchi Films, giving a workshop on Social Media and Social Activism
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8. Key takeaw
ays: suggestions
What's Next?
Set the conditions for more women to use social
media and other information and communications
technologies (ICT).
Take adv
antage of all of the applications of mobile
technology
W
ant to help us achieve this vision? Get in
touch with us at summit@imp
assion.af.
Localize social media
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9. Coverage: PRESS
Foreign Policy / AFP
AK
THE GUARDIAN
The HUFFINGTON POST
MS Magazine
F
ast Comp
any
F
astCo
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10. Coverage: Social Media
#P and trended across multiple social
aiw
media platforms including, Tumblr, Instagram,
F
acebook and Twitter in p
articular. The content
w mainly p
as
articip
ant driven, and shared widely
across the world by an international audience.
'A kid with great ambition' w one of many stand-out p
as
articip
ants - blogging about the
event and subject matters
We received
Combined average of 500 tweets/
day during the two-day summit
56 IP addresses w
atched the events
from over
from the @P and_Eng and
aiw
unfolding live via our Livestream channel
10 countries
@P and_Dari Twitter accounts
aiw
Tweets
15
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11. Acknowledgements
P and wishes to thank all of our sponsors and event p
aiw
artners that made the
summit possible:
We also wish to thank the volunteers who not only worked long hours
alongside our staff, but did so with w
armth, generosity, and teamwork.
The Paiwand team, of staff and volunteers after the successful summit.
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