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Description
Greece is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but violations occur regularly by people who are often not aware of their action. The project will address the lack of awareness in the area of discrimination, as experienced daily by individuals who belong to minority groups (such as LGBTQ+, refugees/migrants, Roma etc). The objective is to foster a culture of respect. This lack of respect is reflected in the media, which often use divisive speech and perpetuate stereotypes, instead of challenging them and offering more inclusive representations of society.
The first activity will be a workshop for media professionals. The participants will work towards a solutions based journalism, learn new up-to-date skills and explore ways of making the media more inclusive for groups such as women, refugees and Roma, who are often misrepresented in mainstream media. Norway''s experience on this front will be an added value for the project and the specific workshop, with the partner travelling to Greece to deliver some of the training sessions. The second activity will be addressing the feelings of frustration and helplessness people experience when they become witnesses or victims of discrimination. The participants will advance their communication and storytelling skills to participate in public discourse, develop advocacy campaigns and tell their story effectively. Again, the partner from Norway will transfer its experience on self-advocacy tools for the training. The third activity will focus on the creation of a network between the participants of the previous two.
Media professionals will apply new skills to their work to develop good practices and promote positive change. Young people, either discriminated against or are averse to discrimination, will be empowered to use their voice and a new skillset for active participation and inclusion. Indirectly, media consumers, the general public, minorities and vulnerable members of society will benefit.
Summary of project results
The first workshop of the project trained 15 people from multicultural backgrounds on Storytelling & Advocacy. Among them, five were unaccompanied minors, and four were asylum seekers. In the second workshop "Change the Narrative!", 15 professionals were trained in what stereotypes are, in fair journalistic approaches when dealing with minorities and in the design thinking method. On the third day of the workshops, the participants from both days networked, so that they can create their own network and reach out whenever they need support on something relative to the topic of the workshops that they are working on. To further facilitate that, a closed social media group was created where they can all keep contact. After receiving positive feedback from the participants, We Need Books and Norsensus Mediaforum jointly decided to continue the workshops, in a smaller scale, with frequent online meetings and monthly meetings in person at the We Need Books’ multilingual library. To support those, who wished to form their own Storytelling & Advocacy groups, for example in their schools, camps or shelters, a toolkit was created that is available online and in printed form, even though it was not originally foreseen as a deliverable of the project. The toolkit positively impacted the sustainability of the project''s results. Another important outcome was the formation of relationships among participants, but also between the workshop facilitators. Many have returned to the library, others are keeping in touch digitally, and some have started their own independent groups, further multiplying the impact of the project well beyond its completion. Also, the project received notable exposure through RISE TV, social media and other means, and in this way managed to introduce to the general public some initial considerations around the damaging effects of the use of stereotypes in Greek media and in our everyday speech in general.
Summary of bilateral results
We Need Books identified the issue and had access and a trust bond with minority and vulnerable groups that are underrepresented in the Greek media. On the other hand, the Norwegian partner had the know-how and helped co-create the content of the workshops, based on available material but also to match the Greek reality, as well as transposed the Norwegian best practices and experience on the matter. The participation of the prominent Norwegian journalist, Oystein Windstad, increased the status of the workshops and helped with the outreach for participants. Both facilitators from the donor partner organization brought professionalism and specialized knowledge to the project, while they received a very positive feedback from the participants. Finally, the toolkit created at the end of the project for future use was based considerably on material of the partner. Norsensus Mediaforum keeps working with We Need Books in the aftermath of the project and an in person meeting is already scheduled for October in Oslo, in the context of Active Citizens Days, to discuss future plans of cooperation.