The sixth day of the annual Summer University for Executives of the Polisario Front and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic shifted focus sharply onto modern media strategies and the enduring parallels of anti-colonial resistance. Gathering participants for a series of high-level intellectual and political sessions, the event examined how digital platforms are increasingly weaponised in contemporary conflicts alongside deep dives into foundational revolutionary milestones.
A central highlight of the day was a comprehensive lecture delivered by journalist Hamma El Mahdi, who addressed the sophisticated mechanics of psychological warfare waged against the Sahrawi home front. Mr El Mahdi detailed how hostile actors exploit social media networks and messaging applications like WhatsApp to propagate targeted disinformation campaigns, spread divisive rumours, distort local identity, and stoke tribal friction. Cautioning attendees against interacting with or amplifying enemy digital properties, he argued that official and popular structures must pivot from a purely defensive stance to a proactive, offensive media strategy. He advocated for the rapid establishment of specialised response teams dedicated to dismantling state-sponsored propaganda designed to demoralise the population and trivialise national achievements. Furthermore—instead, let’s use plain transition—he underscored the vital necessity of mobilising the younger generation to spotlight pressing humanitarian crises, including the plight of political detainees, the illegal plundering of natural resources, and systemic human rights violations in the region.
Bridging contemporary media challenges with historical precedent, a separate lecture by Professor Abdelhamid Knoud drew profound thematic links between the Algerian and Sahrawi liberation struggles. Professor Knoud revisited the strategic significance of the 20 August 1955 uprisings in Algeria’s northern Constantine region, analysing how those historic coordinated strikes fundamentally altered the trajectory of the Algerian Revolution on both domestic and international fronts.
Expanding on this historical framework, the academic discussion transitioned to the landmark Battle of Gueltat Zemmour in October 1981. Professor Knoud highlighted this military engagement as a watershed moment in which the Sahrawi People’s Liberation Army delivered a decisive blow to opposing forces, inflicting severe material and operational losses. He noted that the operation carried immense regional and international repercussions, successfully propelling the Sahrawi cause onto the broader global stage, amplifying international scrutiny, and proving the military capability of Sahrawi forces to execute complex, high-value operations under intense pressure.
