Media4Diversity

Although Channel 4 -as a public service television station- is publicly owned it is entirely self funded. Its remit is to innovate and appeal to everyone – different cultures, nationalities, religious persuasions, physical and mental abilities, sexual orientation, races and ages. Founded in the eighties to combat the monopoly of the BBC and ITV, Channel 4 commissions its programmes from over 300 production companies across the UK. ...read more

The BBC is one of the world’s leading media organisations. Its mission is to enrich people’s lives with programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain. They see their audiences as being at the heart of everything that they do. How to reflect and engage these audiences is a BBC priority. The BBC Diversity Centre is responsible for ensuring that the BBC is legally compliant with all antidiscrimination legislation, hard-wiring diversity into the DNA of the BBC through the Diversity Strategy which is comprised of 4 elements - employment, output, audiences, strategy and business planning. In 2006 an Editorial Executive of Diversity was hired to assist BBC Vision (responsible for BBC TV channels) with delivering authentic representation of the audiences they serve. ...read more

The Diversity Unit is within the VRT to implement the actions outlined in the Diversity Policy and Charter. The Unit looks at a wide range of diversity issues, particularly those faced by ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. Affirmative action towards minority groups is part of the daily work of the Diversity Unit. ...read more

In 2003 the European conference on media and disability highlighted the need to change the way people with disabilities are portrayed by the mainstream media. It became clear that there was a lack of relevant data on the topic that also needed to be addressed. ...read more

During the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE and the production company C-Media created a partnership to make documentaries representing communities fighting discrimination in Finland. ...read more

Founded in 2005 Mama Youth is a production company that offers young adults from minority communities a chance to gain practical skills and means to have a strong chance of finding employment. Robert Clarke, the founder of Mama Youth, has a minority background and during his working life in the media was struck by the lack of diversity in media organisations. He took this experience and founded Mama Youth to actively promote diversity within the television industry. ...read more

Leonard Cheshire Disability is the UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of care and support services for disabled people. The charity supports over 21,000 disabled people in the UK and works in 52 countries. It campaigns for change and provides innovative services that give disabled people the opportunity to live life their way. ...read more

The “Be there, Be yourself” campaign focused on common humanity, showing people that their friends who experience mental health problems are still the same people, who still need their help and support. So as to have both sides of the story, focus groups with people living with mental health problems were conducted to ensure the campaign addressed the discrimination they face. ...read more

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. ...read more

The 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All gave Lithuania an impetus to improve the national understanding of minority groups who face discrimination in Lithuanian society. Centre for Equality Advancement Project, IESSP: From April 2006 to December 2007 the CEA focused primarily on the broadcast of fifty-two topical chat shows, transmitted weekly on prime time television. ...read more