The project ‘Equal media for democracy in Poland’ has as its ambition to strengthen equality standards in the Polish media and provide better working conditions for the journalists.
According to the 2022 ‘Media Pluralism Monitor ’ report, the conditions the journalists work under, are affecting media freedom and their role as “watchdogs”. At the same time, the Council of Europe stated that quality journalism is helped on its way by preventing discrimination among editorial staff.
Research indicates that Polish journalists wish to broaden their knowledge on the legal protection they are entitled to, should they experience violations in their work.
The Equal media project, funded by the EEA and Norway Grants, addresses these problems. The project promoter, the Polish Society of Anti-Discrimination Law, has teamed up with Press Club Polska, in a joint effort to ensure citizens’ right to obtain reliable information.
“One of the foundations for a mature democracy”
“We believe that equality-oriented media - both in terms of the materials created and the working conditions of journalists - is one of the foundations of a mature democracy,” says project coordinator Dorota Dudek, a human rights lawyer and board member of the Polish Society of Anti-Discrimination Law.
“That's why we decided to design and implement activities to support journalists within the framework of the project ‘Equal media for democracy in Poland’ funded by the EEA and Norway Grants,” she continues.
The Polish Society of Anti-Discrimination Law is a Polish non-governmental organization associating lawyers, experts in equality and anti-discrimination. They set standards for equality and support representatives of various sectors - business, NGOs and the media.
In recent years, the media in Poland have found themselves in a particularly difficult situation; faced with pressure from the authorities and organisations gaining strength, organisations spreading populist, polarising content. Thus, it has become increasingly difficult to show reality in a way that takes into account the point of view and situation of various social groups, including minorities.
At the same time, many Polish journalists face inequalities in their work environment in the form of various kinds of discrimination, harassment and employment pathologies. Such a model of functioning is perpetuated by a sense of mission, working for society and the need to provide information when history is happening before our eyes.
“Press Club Polska's participation in the Equal Media Academy is aimed at supporting the promotion of anti-discrimination and anti-mobbing solutions, both in editorial offices and in journalists' publications,” says Marcin Lewicki, President, Press Club Polska.
Comprehensive legal support
“As part of the "Equal media for democracy in Poland" project, we provide comprehensive legal support in the field of equality and protection of journalists' rights for journalists, editorial offices and other entities conducting media activities. We provide journalists with free legal support in the form of trainings, webinars, one-on-one counselling, and even support from a professional lawyer in the court case,” says Dudek.
They have also created and implemented the Equal Media Academy - an innovative educational activity, in which they provided comprehensive training for 15 journalists from all over Poland, from national and local editorial offices, representatives of the press, radio and Internet portals.
Participants of the Academy have created a network of journalists working for equality in the media and, together with the project's Experts, developed the Equality Standards for Editorial Work - a set of guidelines and rules for journalists and editorial offices throughout Poland.
As part of the project, they are also creating a Database, available online in the form of a document, where you can find the most important laws protecting journalists, rulings of Polish and international courts, available resources, reports, webinars and podcasts. You can also find articles on equality in the media, inclusive language and safety of journalists, which were written by the experts of the project.
“We believe that our activities will contribute to strengthening journalists in Poland and set new standards for equality in media coverage and in journalists' workplaces,” says Dudek.
The "Equal media for democracy in Poland" project is coordinated by Dorota Dudek - advocate, human rights lawyer, Polish Society of Anti-Discrimination Law board member.
The project is one of many projects in the Active Citizens Fund – National programme, which is one of twelve programmes in Poland currently running with funding from the EEA and Norway Grants. The aim of the programme is to strengthen the civic society and civic activity and empower vulnerable groups. The programme provides funding for activities conducted by organisations throughout Poland, but particular attention is paid to activities of less experienced organisations based outside large conurbations and in areas where access to aid programmes and infrastructure support is limited, and organisations whose activities are directed towards vulnerable groups. In all of the activities, young people is major target group.
The Active Citizens Fund supports civil society by strengthening its role in promoting democratic participation, supporting active citizenship and protecting human rights.
