Description
Media is influential in shaping public discourse on the Roma and largely defines the way they are perceived by the broader public. Various studies show that the media portrayal of Roma is negatively stereotyped and consists of various myths. Despite this fact, a lot of people are not indifferent to establishing “antigypsism” in public discourse. Among them, the project aims to target those who occupy the position of “opinion maker”, who are able to positively influence the opinions of others. Media discourse in selected localities will be studied to identify local myths about the Roma. A network of anti-racist opinion-makers, who will attend anti-racist trainings, will be formed. It will include local policemen, public servants, and secondary school students. Local Roma initiatives will be identified and their capacity to address the broader public will be supported. Information for victims of racist hate speech will be disseminated.
Summary of project results
Media image of Roma influences the way this minority is perceived within the Czech society. Research conducted by the Agency for Social Inclusion in 2011-12 confirmed that media create negatively stereotypic image of the Roma, which subsequently boosts anti-Gypsyism. Anti-Gypsyism is widely spread in regions with higher concentration of the Roma population, e.g in the Ústí region, which has simultaneously been affected by high unemployment rate caused by economic restructuring after 1989. The aim of the project was to monitor the image of the Roma in northern Bohemian media and to create a novel educational programme for project´s target groups, i.e. secondary school students, employees of public institutions and municipal authorities. At the same time, the project aimed to identify and support local Roma initiatives and bolster argumentation skills of local anti-racism opinionmakers. A set of analyses of selected localities with a history of inter-ethnic conflict in the Ústí region as well as the analysis of Roma´media image were created. On the basis of the analysis a set of educational programmes for project´s target groups were formulated and carried out. Media campaign in the form of a viral video was realized with the aim to point out the role of media in the strenghtening of racism in public space. In project´s final phase, current reactions to the so-called refugee crisis in two Czech towns were analysed and subsequently the existing educational programmes were adapted. The project helped the target groups to improve understanding of the role of the media in strenghtening stereotypic anti-Roma public discourse as well as to mediate perception of racism and social exclusion from the perspective of Roma lecturers. A network of opinionmakers and Roma activists was established.
Summary of bilateral results