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Description
Modern technologies and digitalisation are increasingly impacting our lives. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this process. It has shown not only their potential, but also their negative impact on human rights, especially among vulnerable groups.
Media play a key role in a democratic society and should respond to the urgent global challenges of the digital age. Media should also be a powerful force in anticipating, analysing and responding to those human rights abuses which result from the use of modern technology. However, due to the absence of adequate training both at the university level and on-the-job professional development, this essential skill is lacking among journalists, with a consequent impact on public awareness and understanding of this problem.
In an interdisciplinary consortium of Czech educational, academic, and nonprofit entities together with a Norwegian partner, we seek to change this by increasing the ability of educational institutions and media to address this burning issue. Initially, we will present the results of our base-line research with journalists and vulnerable groups at our first conference and use them to design and implement a one-semester course for journalism students at the Charles University Faculty of Social Sciences.
We will, thus, introduce the first long-term educational module in the Czech Republic focused on eliminating discrimination and human rights abuses, while originating and distributing media content produced by journalists in the field of modern technologies and their use. The course will give birth to a series of online training sessions and guidelines for journalists. Both will be used at universities and within the media in the Czech Republic and in Norway and presented at our second conference. With this project, we aim to increase long-term awareness of the impact of technology on human rights in the journalistic community, educational institutions, and the general public.
Summary of project results
The project responded to the increase in the use of digi-technologies since the COVID-19pandemic.
It has shown that awareness of how the tools work is low, among the public and journalists, and the
risks of violating fundamental rights in the digital context are growing.
The challenge was to conduct a survey, colloquium and symposium, where we addressed how to
inform about the activities the right target groups. Thanks to the emphasis to communication, all
activities were successful in the end
Final beneficiery surveyed a sample of 620 Czech journalists to find out their awareness of the risks of digital
technologies. Earlier mapping of groups at risk of digital exclusion preceded. Such a research has not
been done in the CR before. It´s still being used in further analyses.
73 people registered for the colloquium organised in Oct 2022. The recording of the individual
panels was viewed by 748 people. The introduction of the previously overlooked topic of digital
exclusion was cruicial.
For FSV UK students, Final beneficiery ran a semester course on human rights violations in a digital context in the
summer of 2023. Importantly, the students developed the topics further outside the course as part
of their journalistic work.
The final symposium was in Dec 2023. 96 people registered. New topic of the influence of AI in
media was introduced. The recordings of each panel were viewed by 2004 people.
Final beneficiery published a 10-epozides series of educational videos. Final beneficiery delivered a guide for journalists to 350
people.
The objective of the project was to raise awareness + understanding of the impact of technology on
human rights.
Final beneficiery offered more than 24 videos, a handbook and other materials to end users. Thanks to the
project, digital rights issues were brought into the public domain: our activities resulted in almost 24
articles in Czech and international media. The topic of digital exclusion has become mainstream
media.
The course for students continues successfully even after the end of the project.
Summary of bilateral results
The cooperation with the Norwegian partner enriched the whole project especially with direct experience from an order of magnitude morea digitized country like Norway. The topic of the impact of digital technologies on societyso the Norwegian partner made it possible to see from a different perspective. In particular, the topics of digital exclusion andprivacy protection, the Norwegian partner contributed to both events for the public that were part of the projectimplemented. Thanks to the established cooperation, several media were created with the Norwegian partner even outside the projectoutputs - for example an article on cash protection in Norway.