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World Perspectives: Diversity Voices
Start date: Oct 1, 2015, End date: Dec 31, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

The media plays a crucial role in the modern society. In its various forms it relays information to the public, and helps communities to be kept up-to-date with current events from around the world. Additionally, the media serves as a link between the world's governments and their citizens, by informing the latter of the policies and practices of the former. This information helps the public participate in the public sphere and in the decision-making processes. Consequently, the media has not only enormous potential to influence perceptions and to sway opinions, but arguably also to shape events. It is therefore crucial that the media have to be as objective as possible, especially when they cover the sensitive issue of different ethnic and religious minority groups, whether they are settled in the country for decades or a first-generation minorities with migrant and refugee background. Superficial and based on stereotypes coverage of ethnic and religious minorities, migrants or refugees issues leads to misunderstanding, stigmatization, hatred and, as a result, splits the society. Although it is almost impossible for anyone to be completely free of prejudices, it is essential that media makers’ personal biases - whatever they may be related to - not affect their professional activities. Therefore, the World Perspectives: Diversity Voices project targets young media makers so that they may develop a future professional approach that is more objective and thus more fairly reflects and involves the experience and perspective of minority communities. In general point of view, the project aims at raising the public awareness of the presence (whether deliberately planned or not) of biased information about minorities issues in the media, and the frequency with which they appear. The project consists of one comprehensive mobility activity. It is a 5 days training course in the fields of minority, migrants and refugees rights and issues, tolerance and objective reporting for 53 young journalists and media makers from 14 European countries. Its participants will learn how to produce high quality reports on the topics of ethnic and religious minorities, migrants and refugees rights and issues, tolerance and non-discrimination in non-biased and non-stereotyped way. They will acquire and/or improve their critical thinking, skills in quality journalism (e.g. respect for professional ethics, how to properly find and check information, how to report without supporting stereotypes or propaganda), and knowledge (e.g. of journalistic ethic, minorities, migrants and refugees rights, minorities advocacy, intercultural work, analysis of media content). The training course will be composed from 3 main components: Human Rights, Critical Thinking and Data Journalism. The first component will introduce through lectures the general legal background of human rights issues related to the topic and its implementation in Europe. The second component will consist of workshops on how to recognise biased information and avoid it in every-day journalistic work. The third component through workshops and lectures will offer participants different tools for gathering, analysing and visualising open-access statistical data as way of building strong fact-based arguments in journalistic reports. This knowledge will be solidified through hands-on production of media content on the issues of different ethnic and religious minority groups, migrants and refugees. This way the participants will put the acquired knowledge into practice. They will also be able to spread the knowledge among wide public and thus raise the issues of different minority groups by giving them a voice through media. Activities included in the program consist of non-formal (panel discussions, seminars, workshops) and informal learning (study trips, meetings and field reporting). Participants will substantively and actively contribute to design and preparations of these activities. Since major part of the training is dedicated to practice, participants will directly apply their newly gained skills (learning by doing). The trainers will be journalists, academics, NGO activists from different countries. Main target group of the project are young journalists and other media-makers. In this case, the main expected long-term effect is the achievement of a responsible media (and media-makers) in Europe that report objectively on the issue. The project is also expected to significantly increase intercultural understanding and public awareness of challenges different minority groups are facing by giving them the voice and balanced presentation. Participants will create media products in various formats on themes of their choice. These outcomes will be published on EYP´s websites. The participants will be also encouraged to publish analytical pieces, reports and educational materials on the EYP´s website after the project's lifetime. Thus the follow-up of this project will be ensured.

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