In Montenegro, a project by Association “Spektra” and Queer Montenegro improved media literacy skills of trans activists and journalists. It also sought to educate the general public about human rights of transgender, gender diverse and intersex persons, including the issue of gender equality. The education involved tackling stereotypes in the public discourse and media content.
The project is part of the sub-granting scheme of the regional project »Media for Citizens, Citizens for Media«, implemented in 5 countries of the Western Balkans. The aim of the projects is to increase the CSOs’ capacities for promotion of MIL practices and policies at a local level.
In this series we present a number of implemented projects.
Along with a training session for 9 activists of “Spektra” and Queer Montenegro and a media monitoring, the project by these two organizations produced:
- a manual “Guidelines for media reporting on transgender, gender diverse and intersex persons” (distributed to media outlets, individual journalists, organizations dealing with MIL and promoted on social media) and
- a video campaign “Because I exist” with transgender and gender diverse persons involved in promotion on social media.
Each video presents one transgender or gender diverse person with facial wound art that represents both physical violence such persons suffer and their feelings when exposed to verbal violence. This idea came from physical violence often being seen as the only real form of violence, while other forms, such as verbal violence, are overseen or ignored by many.
The videos target the general public and the media community in order to raise their awareness. As the project authors say, they made the videos to catch the eye of anyone who sees them and to make them wonder about what they’ve seen.
As the project implementers were awarded yet another grant by the regional project »Media for Citizens, Citizens for Media« in the 2nd round of sub-granting, they will continue advocacy work regarding trans-gender issues and media literacy. Among other activities, they are preparing new video material that aims to dispel prejudice against trans persons in the media.
Follow “Media for Citizens – Citizens for Media“!
www.seenpm.org
https://www.facebook.com/seenpm.org/
@SEENPM_org
www.cimusee.org
https://www.facebook.com/CIMUSEE/
@CIMU_SEE
The regional program “Media for Citizens – Citizens for Media: Strengthening the Capacity of NGOs for the Development of Media and Information Literacy in the Western Balkans” is implemented with the support of the European Union by partner organizations Mediacentar Sarajevo, Albanian Media Institute,Macedonian Institute for Media, Montenegrin Media Institute, Novi Sad School of Journalism, Peace Institute, SEENPM.
