1 November 2018

Region: Central Asia

By Mikhail Yakovlev

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan will host the 12th annual Central Asia Human Rights Film Festival this month, honoring the seventieth anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights with a line up of twenty-four films exploring themes of diversity and discrimination.

Each film will focus on stories of people facing intersectional oppression and inequality, from a range of different countries, including but not limited to Kyrgyzstan, Russia and the United States. Many of the films tell stories of migrants, and women from around the world.

“Why do discrimination, injustice and poverty continue to grow seventy years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?” said Tolekan Ismailova, when asked why the festival is focussing this year’s festival around diversity and discrimination. She went on to say that even though Kyrgyzstan has lived through two revolutions, and a period of ethnic violence in recent history, many of those who suffered the most have still not received full compensation, and continue to experience discrimination when it comes to accessing justice and basic human rights.

30 October 2018

Countries: US, Worldwide

By: Anna Lekas Miller

Many in the Jewish community’s worst nightmare came to life on Saturday when an armed gunman stormed a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, murdering eleven worshippers. It is the worst attack on the Jewish community in US history, and comes after a steady rise in anti-semitic incidents and rhetoric across the country and around the world.

It is not the only instance of hate speech seeping into the real world in the past few days. Earlier in the week, the US postal service intercepted several suspicious “pipe bomb” packages addressed to prominent Democratic party affiliates, including but not limited to Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the CNN New York City offices. Later the bomber was identified as Cesar Sayoc, an ardent Trump supporter who routinely made threatening statements on social media.

29 October 2018

Country: Lithuania

Last week, Media Diversity Institute (MDI) Executive Director Milica Pesic participated in the Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) conference in Kaunas, Lithuania, where she discussed our ongoing work countering hate speech in the media and online.

“What can we do with hate speech,” she asked during her panel, titled Media and Information Literacy: Tackling Hate, Intolerance, Exclusion and Radicalization.

“At MDI we have different tools in our arsenal, but almost always find that when we encounter hate speech in the media, we struggle to choose the right tool to confront it. Do we complain to the relevant (self) regulatory bodies? Educate people who run the outlet, or post hate speech on the Internet? Mock it?”

In addition to our panel, MDI was able to participate in a robust conversation about the current state of media and information literacy around the world today.

Deadline: 30 November 2018

Region: Europe

Help us make the Internet a better place! As part of Global Media and Information Literacy week, we are working on a new project alongside our partner Get the Trolls Out, and we want to hear from you.

Do you create videos, infographics, GIFs or memes? Are you passionate about making social media a more inclusive, and tolerant space? The Media Diversity Institute (MDI) is looking for original content that promotes awareness of anti-religious media content and demonstrates creative ways of to combat religious intolerance online.

Published: 25 October 2018

Region: UK

by Safiya Ahmed

It is that time of the year that we fill our shopping baskets with colourful gourds and admire the changing foliage in our city streets. But with the changing of the seasons, comes another awareness of colour in our national consciousness: Black History Month.

Our local libraries display head shots of Zadie Smith and Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie wearing colourful head-wraps and resurrect copies of Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom. A familiar media debate ensues: is an entire month devoted to Black history really necessary? Is it an excuse for the media to sow the seeds of racial division with op-ed pieces? What about “White History Month”—or Muslim, South Asian, or Latino history month, for that matter.

Dates: 24 – 31 October 2018

Countries: Latvia, Lithuania

UNESCO is hosting the annual “Media and Information Literacy Week,". Amongst numerious activities around the world celebrating the importance of media and information literacy, UNESCO will host a conference on 24-31 October in Latvia and Lithuania. The aim of the MIL Week conference is to  highlight how access, understanding and use of new media technology and information systems can benefit cities beyond good governance. The Media Diversity Institute (MDI) Executive Director Milica Pesic will be speaking at the  panel titled “Media and Information Literacy Tackling Hate, Intolerance, Exclusion and Radicalization.”