Nick Thorpe (BBC), Barbara Matejčić (freelance journalist) and Daniela Draštata (HRT) shared experiences and suggestions about media reporting on the integration of refugees to journalists and students.
On the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, March 21, a group of VERN's undergraduate students in Journalism and Public Relations attended a media workshop on the topic "Media Reporting on the Integration of Refugees in Croatia".
Given the limited number of places, the unique workshop was attended by a total of 10 journalists from Croatian media and a group of about 15 VERN's students, and was organized by UNHCR Croatia and the Festival of Tolerance.
Award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Nick Thorpe, former BBC News correspondent for Central Europe and a journalist with more than 30 years of experience who also wrote for the Observer, Guardian and Independent, gave a lecture on media reporting and the future of journalism. He discussed with the participants about the sources of information and their accuracy and influence, in the context of the media landscape, and about the constant dilemma of refugees about the probability of returning to their home country after successful integration.
Lecturer at VERN's journalism studio Barbara Matejčić , an award-winning freelance journalist, writer and researcher who collaborates with organizations such as UNHCR, UNICEF and the Council of Europe, analyzed examples from domestic and international media on the topic of refugees, with an emphasis on different media formats and innovative approaches. She discussed ethical dilemmas in reporting on refugees with colleagues from the media and students, and they considered different forms of cooperation with the aim of a more active role for refugees in their media representation.
The participants gained their final professional knowledge and recommendations at an interactive workshop hosted by HRT journalist, editor and screenwriter Daniela Draštate, who also chairs the EBU Expert Group on Multiculture and is the Executive Producer of the EBU Diversity Documentary Series. The participants adopted recommendations for reporting on the integration of persons under international protection, learned how to raise the visibility of refugee-related topics, and learned how to develop relationships with the protagonists of stories and apply the principles of ethical journalism.
