Studie über Medienvielfalt

Programme Description:

Although implemented by the Polish NGO Campaign against Homophobia, “Don’t stay away. React against Discrimination” project deals with all levels of discrimination against a wide range of social and ethnic groups.

This Polish 2007 EYEO project had three elements. The first was to design a website (www. multikulti.org.pl) that would become a reference point about diversity. Launched in November 2007, with seven different sections relating to diversity in general, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, age and sexual orientation it now comprises over 1000 pages of information. A team of journalists write the articles on each topic, users are also able to add related content.

To promote the website, and the issue of diversity in Poland, developers designed the “Game of Life”. This online game gives people the opportunity to see what it might be like to be someone else. Each time you play the game you take on a different identity and are then faced with different obstacles or circumstances you have to overcome. By using the format of a game it shows diversity in an interesting accessible way.

The third component of the project was a conference on how to teach the general public, children in particular, about diversity. Two hundred professionals from NGOs, policy makers and teachers took part from all over Poland. On the first day thirty teachers were part of an anti-discrimination workshop where they were trained on how to use games as a way of teaching children about discrimination. The second day was an all day discussion involving presentations of best practice in the field of diversity education in Poland.

Challenge:

Continuing Homophobia in Poland often leads to people not wanting to work with “Don’t stay away. Act against Discrimination” on other diversity issues.

Solution:

The website journalists do not approach any story as ‘activists’ but as un-biased watchdogs. By continuing to publish stories on a wide range of discrimination cases, “Don’t stay away. Act against Discrimination” project hopes to educate people to accept other human beings for their differences as well as their similarities.

Impact and Success Stories:

• The publication of the “Game of Life” in ‘Gazeta Wyborcza’ a national Polish newspaper sold 1,000,000 copies across Poland.
• The founders of the website are now seen as experts in the field of diversity.
• The website has become the leading source of information regarding anti-discrimination. Far more space and detail is given to diversity issues than in the mainstream media.

Quotes:

“As an organisation – working for seven years in Poland and dealing with diversity issues we have great knowledge and experience about the problems of discrimination in Poland.” Marta Abramowicz, Campaign against Homophobia