Media are a key part in creating public opinion and therefore a wrong message can lead into creating prejudices and stereotypes but also a right one can assist into fighting discrimination. The idea for this project comes from the need to encourage young people, especially women, to exchange different points of view and experience how to use media as a tool especially when working with youth and on topics as gender based discrimination and marginalization and in promotion of gender equality.Projects aim is to raise the standards of reporting while making those that write reports (articles, blogs) more gender sensitive and strengthen the human capacity of the NGO’s and their partnership with media in the partner countries. This is part of the process of enhancing democracy, good governance and human rights in the country while promoting professionalism and editorial independence.The project’s main specific objective, is to provide a group reporters from Serbia, Cyprus, FYROM, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and Romania with a training program that will equip them with knowledge, skills and contacts aimed at enabling them to report on gender issues in a gender sensitive matter including the exchange of young people that would embed good practices in their early steps as reporters. Key element of this project is use of media as a tool to reach the goals for which youth women activists fight for – positive change towards gender equality and it’s promotion. Through project activities participants will be encouraged to make their projects/activities more visible to the public but also will give them concrete tools on how to address them for promotion of gender equality and be gender sensitive towards their target group by using different media, with special aspect on online media. Part form this project will be influencing pubic opinion but also how to send the right message to the right group and guide them into gender sensitiveness and equality.
We live in a world where the composition of women and man is almost in equal number, but looking at the presence in the media, women are heard about or read in approximately 23% of the world news. The world seen in the news media is largely male one with their presence in 76% of the time. This leaves the female part of our societies relatively invisible. Study from 2012 shows that “women’s voices were hardly visible in stories on politics, economics, energy, and sports – areas considered male domain. Instead, they were more present in stories connected with gender-based violence, child issues, health, beauty and life style, which are to be considered as a female domain. This clearly shows that media often portrays women merely as sex objects, victims of violence and of disasters. In the same time, women’s views are rarely solicited and when solicited they are presented as average citizens. On a general point of view, women are rarely seen as expert sources. According to research conducted by Global Media Monitoring Project conducted in 100 countries, 46% of the printed news, radio and TV uphold gender stereotypes and only 6% highlighting gender equality. Other report shows that only 16% of the media gave stories for women’s voices. This again portraits the world of experts/professional mainly as a “man’s world” and limiting the possibilities for the women’s angles and expert’s opinion to be heard and shape our world.We want to go beyond the reasons why media continues to report negatively about women and contribute to responsible reporting and journalism that a holistic turnaround of our countries can be achieved. Staying in the space where media continues to stereotype women through coverage, it can contribute to the perpetuation of unfair positioning of women in society, which is already fragile and still needs development. One of the things we need to so is change the negative portrayal of women in and by media, while reporting and journalism training should establish gender-sensitive units and curriculum. There is definitely a need to raise the standards of reporting and make them more gender sensitive and strengthen the human capacity of the NGO’s and their partnership with media in the partner countries. This is an important pillar in the process of enhancing democracy, good governance and human rights in our countries while promoting professionalism and editorial independence.There is a need to give media a particular priority because they have an enormous impact on society. It’s about time that now the media makes the future where gender equality is a reality on screen, on radio, in the newspapers, including in the social media. This is where we, youth and women, NGO’s and activists come on stage, as we are the ones working on the grassroots level and can approach both media and local people thus having a bigger and more visible impact. We will bring the local realities from each community and country into the common portal for reporting where beside the information shared on local level, will be shared with the rest of the local partner communities, so our women voices are heard and equality is becoming more promoted and inspired.