National, Racial or Ethnic origin, Roma, Religion or Belief, Disability, Sexual Orientation and/or Gender Identity, Age (15-30), Age (over 50), Gender Dimension
C-media and YLE – www.yle.fi
Programme Description:
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.
Each 1-minute spot tells someone’s personal story, good or bad, related to his/her ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, gender or sexual orientation and how they have been discriminated or included on that basis. All 28 spots were broadcast at various times of the day on TV1 (YLE main channel), throughout the Week of Equality (another Finnish EYEO project).
The production staff who worked on the project was all from different ethnic minorities including one person from the Roma-community and one immigrant from Lebanon.
Partnerships with NGOs dealing with discrimination assisted in researching people to star in the documentaries. They also helped finding a group of people from minority groups to assist with the script development. The style of the shoot was carefully selected, so that the spots didn’t preach to people, but was accessible to a wide audience. The important message was that the people on television are just that, people, and deserve the same rights and respect that we expect for ourselves.
Production training was also given to a group of people with disabilities so that in the future they can tell their own stories through the media.
Challenge:
Finding the right angle to communicate people’s stories of discrimination.
Solution:
More research needs to be conducted to explore how to involve people in issues of diversity and discrimination. An understanding of where and how stereotypes are built would also be incredibly valuable.
Impact and Success Stories:
- The TV spots were viewed 20 million times.
- It is believed that ethnic minorities are now more willing to take their problems to local politicians.
- The TV spots were also shown at the “Love and Anarchy Festival”; one spot was played every hour in a popular square in Helsinki.
Quotes:
“We do not look alike or share all the same thoughts but we can learn from each other a piece of equality.” Mrs Sinikka Keskinen, Ministry of Interior
