Media4Diversity

Dear Colleagues

I am sure you all remember the hateful propaganda of the infamous Rwandan Radio des Mille Collines or TV Serbia. Using (or misusing) their right to freedom of expression, they both managed to demonise anyone who looked, thought, or prayed in a way they disapproved of.

It took another couple of events, this time in Western Europe – the Danish cartoons affair, the community violence in the suburbs of major European cities, the bombings in London & Madrid and the emergence of religious extremism, to help us understand that the line between freedom of expression and sensitive reporting on ALL members of society is an extremely thin one and should be considered very seriously. This was confirmed by the recent Eurobarometer poll, which listed the media – along with our families and schools – as key players in the struggle against discrimination.

Thanks to the European Commission; Internews Europe, the IFJ and the Media Diversity Institute are now working in partnership to identify the best practices by and about media, as related to non-discrimination and the promotion of diversity, throughout thirty European countries.  We believe that this work will help all of us to understand how good journalism can help tackle the challenge of diversity – one of the most important treasures of our democratic societies.

Over the next 10 months and beyond, this website will provide you not only with a survey to help us identify best practices, but also with information about media and civil society organisations who have been struggling to counter discrimination. It will tell you how they have done it, what benefits came out of their efforts, and – in the case of the media – how their efforts brought them a broader audience – the ultimate goal of each media organisation, regardless of ownership, size, or funding.

You will find more details about this study by clicking here. As the project team leader, I would be grateful if you could help us with this important task by completing our survey. In this European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, this is the least we can do – name & publicise those who have provided a space for understanding between different individuals and different communities.



Yours sincerely



Milica Pesic
Executive Director, Media Diversity Institute