Combating anti-Roma stereotypes and prejudices through media

IntroductionFor the purpose of this work and as it is most commonly used in EU policy documents and discussions, theterm "Roma" refers to a variety of groups of people who describe themselves as Roma, Gypsies, Travelers,Manouches, Ashkali, Sinti, Gens de Voyages, Kale, as well as other titles. The use of the term Roma is in noway intended to downplay the great diversity within the many different Romani groups and relatedcommunities, nor is it intended to promote stereotypes.+Respect focuses on the EU priority of combating racism and xenophobia, with specific actions that are alsorelevant to the objective of fostering active participation in the democratic life of the Union. Participation indemocratic life must critically start from the local/regional level where such dynamics take place daily. This isthe reason why +Respect deals with the anti-Roma racism issue with a territorial approach. It is a criticalcompetence of territories to tackle anti-Roma racism and discrimination, access to rights and citizenship.+Respect aims to enhance the knowledge, the intercultural dialogue and the awareness of civil society andpractitioners meaningful to the local/regional dimension, but also to contribute to national and Europeanpolicies and debates.The history of the multiple discriminations and the racial segregation has been going hand in hand, throughcenturies, with the negative perception of the Roma communities in Europe. Today, Roma people are stillpictured and portrayed as a problematic ‘ethnic group’, by use of negative stereotypes and prejudices, as ifthe social exclusion of Roma people is an innate element of their ethnicity and not the consequence of longlasting discriminating policies and untrue stories.This negative image is seriously widespread in Europe and is given more emphasis by offensive politicaldiscourses and deceitful information campaigns. The use of ‘institutional racism’ is often a way to channelfear and weakness of the majority of the population against a precise target group, Roma people. Media cancreate and support a vicious circle reporting and passing on negative messages without taking into accountthe consequences of their words.This report is a part of the ‘Information and awareness campaign’ of the project, and more specifically itcontains the results of the project WP4.2 which aims to tackle the issue of ‘Professional media:communicating the Roma life, debunking stereotypes and combating anti-Gypsism by mass media’. 4thematic seminars (twice in Brussels, and in Rome and Bari) have been tailored for professional journalists,information providers, media activists, civil society organization, institutional communication agencies,international organizations, Roma communities and local authorities in order to discuss, collect and propose11