Deadline: 30 June 2013

Region: Union for the Mediterranean countries

Journalists from the 42 countries of the Union for the Mediterranean are invited to submit their works for the 7th edition of the Anna Lindh Journalist Award.

The Award, which started in 2006, aims at rewarding exceptional journalistic productions, contributing to a better understanding of the diversity of cultures in the Euro-Mediterranean region as well as promoting the positive role played by journalists in providing balanced and informed coverage on cultural issues in the region.

Date: 9 May 2013

Country: UK

At a conference in Munich in 2011, the British Prime Minister David Cameron affirmed that “state multiculturalism in the UK has failed” and that the country needed a stronger national identity to prevent people turning to all kinds of extremism.

These words were the starting point of a debate “Multiculturalism in the UK: Has it any Future?” organised by The Prisma Multicultural Newspaper, in the House of Commons on 9 May.

The aim was to go through the status of multiculturalism over the last few years, after Cameron’s well-known assessment, and to discuss the deployment, effectiveness and purposes of implementing a multiculturalist ethos in the UK, as well as the actual realities of living in a nation of cultural plurality.

Published: 16 May 2013

Region: Worldwide

The Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) launched a report that gets to the heart of the ethical crisis facing journalists and media who struggle to maintain standards in the online age. The report Innocent Mistakes highlights the influence on media of deeply-embedded stereotypes and how the rush to publish is squeezing editorial standards, says Aidan White, the editor of the report.

The Media Diversity Institute (MDI) has contributed to the report by providing the analysis of media in the UK and the United States. MDI team members are amongst the authors of the report, as well as the designers of a publication.

The EJN report reviews coverage by major media in Britain, the United States, Turkey and Pakistan of the controversy over the Innocence of Muslims , a short video which came to prominence in September last year when it was uploaded to YouTube with anti-Islamic content.

Published: 10 May 2013

Region: Denmark

A Danish talk show, Blachman, has been widely criticised for being sexist and humiliating for women.

Aired on the Danish public service channel DR2, the show features a woman that silently undresses in a studio exposing her to two men’s judgement. In a dark studio, they critique out loud each part of her body at her presence.

Thomas Blachman, jazz musician and X-factor judge, is the host who gives the name to the show. He sits on a sofa and, together with another male guest, scrutinises the woman who stands up naked in front of them.

The show has faced harsh condemnations over the way it represents women.

Date: 9-10 May 2013

Country: UK

Migrant Voice celebrates its third annual conference focusing this year on media and immigration. The media, academics, migrants and the public will engage in an inclusive debate on migration, examining public attitude and media representation of migrants, and raising alternatives voices and messages.

The two-day conference, which is called “The immigration debate: the facts, the rhetoric and the voices; initiating an inclusive debate and raising alternative voices and messages”, will be held on the 9^th and 10^th May in London.

Date: 20-21 April 2013

Country: China

The Media Diversity Institute (MDI) established the Hong Kong Inclusive Journalism Network (HKIJN) to encourage academics from Hong Kong, China mainland and the West to share the ideas, goals and materials concerning the inclusive journalism and diversity in media.

The HKIJN was set up at the conference in Hong Kong held on 20-21 April 2013 and organised by the MDI and the Institute for Journalism and Society, of the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU).

By initiating and organizing the conference in Hong Kong, the MDI has proven its leading role in promoting the inclusive and diverse media around the world, now including China.