In the pilot project, we sought educational "cures" for the distorted media image of Roma in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic as follows: The aim of the non-formal educational model was to create and test an interactive, inclusive format based on discussion, interviews, storytelling and arguments and to prepare simple supporting educational procedures and tools (methodologies and videos), that will help to change the distorted media image of Roma in mainstream society, trigger attitudinal changes and give young Roma arguments and motivation for civic engagement and active citizenship in their own media production (micro-training) on the media platform www.pribehybezhranic.sk and then wherever there is a need to actively change the distorted media image of Roma, because the media have an irreplaceable place in society and, in addition to providing information, they are an important bridge between different groups of the population and, thanks to the civic engagement of young Roma media creators, they can sensitize public opinion, influence the attitudes and opinions of both the majority and minority population and help in the successful inclusion of Roma and their acceptance in Slovak and Czech society.
Thanks to the distorted image of Roma in the media, the majority society has a distorted, stereotyped view of Roma, which leads to the persistence of prejudice, segregation, discrimination and racism against Roma. Roma do not have sufficient space in the media to communicate topics related to their lives from their perspective. Information about Roma in the media is generally rare, unsystematic and lacks the necessary power to bring about attitudinal changes in the majority towards Roma. Roma do not have enough Roma media creators who could talk about the real life of Roma in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic. Therefore, majority media creators speak about Roma, usually without knowledge of deeper contexts and in a distorted way. Thanks to the media, it is possible to sensitise public opinion, to influence the attitudes and opinions of both the majority and minority populations and to help in the successful integration of the Roma minority into society, in increasing tolerance and acceptance of Roma in society. Our intention was to prepare and test a pilot educational project that could help to address the above-mentioned problems.