Twenty-five senior print, online and broadcast editors from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Romania and UK gathered in Cagliari, Sardinia from 24-26 October 2013 to share their approaches, opinions and experience on increased evidence of hate speech across Europe.
To the “Media4change” training that took place in Trakai, Lithuania gathered 20 journalists from 14 European countries. The meeting was organized to discuss issues of ethics and higher standards in journalism and the main focus of the training was how to deal with hate speech while informing society.
Will you stand for the highest standards in Journalism? If you believe that there is no place for racism, xenophobia or hatred in the media, take part in a training programme for journalists in Lithuania, as a part of an international project ”Address of Human Rights – Journalism“. The deadline to apply is end of 1 November 2013.
Across Europe populist and extremist movements are manipulating peoples’ fears and prejudices to build support for their divisive policies at a time of economic crisis. Inciting hatred against unpopular social groups is a classic strategy to gain visibility and garner votes, especially in times of economic crises.
What is the role of the media and journalists when hate speech is on the increase? Who should decide on the limits of freedom of speech? How do media professionals in other countries tackle the problem of hate speech and discrimination?
Nevena Lyubenova was one of the participants of the „Media4Change“ seminar for international group of joung journalists held on the 21st of June, 2013. The event tackled such topics as hate speech and representation of socially vulnerable groups and minoritines in media. Seminar enjoyed contributions from the representatives of often marginalized groups in society, who shared their experiences and views on the topic. The acquintance with one of them Viktoras Topol, inspired her to write this article.
“All of us, without exception, have unexpected physical capabilities. We are able to do a lot more, than we can imagine. And we can use all this potential, unlocking it. The key is in our mind.“