Graduating Students Claim MA Diversity and the Media Broadens Their World

Originally published in http://www.media-diversity.org

Students who attended the course this year are still savouring and digesting all the thought-provoking knowledge they were nourished with. They come from different countries, speak different languages, they have different cultural backgrounds and make plans for different careers. Yet, they share the same impressions about the MA in Diversity and the Media at the University of Westminster. They claim the course has widened their horizons. “I used to consider myself an open-minded person, but I realised I wasn’t,” says Betina de Tella, 26-year-old student from Brazil. Khaled Abdalla, from Egypt, is of the same opinion: “This master changed my view about everything happening around me. I now pay attention to things I never thought about before.”
The MA Diversity and the Media, designed and developed in collaboration with the Media Diversity Institute in 2010, is a highly innovative course. It is designed to attract not only media graduates, but also “people who have already worked in journalism, but want to enhance their skills in the area of inclusive journalism,” the course guideline says. When asked if she would recommend it, Thaila Moreira, from Brazil, has no doubts: “I always tell my friends they’re missing a huge part of the world, because the world is not just surface. The approach you are taught during lectures helps you to see different issues you couldn’t normally see,” she continues. Learn how to be a good journalist But what is it that makes this MA studies at Westminster University unique? Ivana Jelača, 25-year-old student from Serbia, has the answer: “Most of the media courses teach you how to sell the story. The MA Diversity and the Media provides you with skills and critical abilities that can make a difference,” says Jelača. The Diversity and the Media course encourages student journalists to look at, reflect, and report on the society they live in. At the end of the year, they have developed a critical understanding of the role of mass media in the social construction, representation and understanding of difference and social diversity. Shazwan M. Kamal, a student who has worked in Malaysia as a reporter, explains: “There is not enough understanding in the media about diversity. Journalists should think about repercussions, but they don’t.” Theoretical engagement is not the only focus of the Master. Theories are combined with practice-oriented modules intended to give first-hand experience in the practice of inclusive journalism. “We learned how sociology can help you understand the media,” explains Lin Zhao, a young student from China, “but it is a practical learning at the same time”. As the website course overview explains, through the practical training students are equipped to enter employment in various areas of the media, or communication with governments and NGOs focusing on immigration, equality, and social inclusion. Hebatallah Katoon, 25, came to attend this course from Egypt, where she works as a university teacher. Having produced a documentary on the life of dwarves in Egypt and being involved in charity projects with disabled people, she is not the kind of person you would consider to be unaware of the importance of diversity.  Yet, her studies at Westminster were useful for her, too. “This course gave me the tools to deal with today’s challenges,” she says. “I now know how to make my students appreciate diversity”. Still, books and lectures are not the only way students have learnt to appreciate diversity as a value. One of the distinctive features of the course is the diverse cultural backgrounds of students. “Having classmates coming from all over the world has definitely enriched my experience,” comments Betina de Tella. “We have had great debates.” In addition, London itself offers them the opportunity to be part of a society where a multitude of different ethnic groups live together. In a few months students will be flying back to their home countries where they will apply in both profession and life what they learned throughout the academic year. A lot of work is waiting for them, but they are ready to respond to the challenges.

Social Diversity and the Arab Spring: Egypt a year after

Reflecting about the passing of a year since Egypt’s popular uprising that eventually led to the end of the rule of the Mubarak political dynasty one can read signs that are typical of the trajectory of the Arab Spring throughout the Middle East and North Africa. It is commonplace to say that the loosening of Mubarak’s hold to power has been largely symbolic as the military and several forces inextricably linked to the ancien régime continue to dominate the political system of the country. True, voices that had only no or limited political expression before January 2011 have been propelled to the political arena: The Muslim Brotherhood is gently flexing its newly found political muscles as is the new Salafist Party. Other secular and liberal forces have also found expression in a polyphonic and complex political arena.

However, the expression of the considerable social and cultural diversity of this complex society has brought with it numerous challenges. The Islamic political forces are treading carefully when it comes to issues such as women’s rights but, still, have often articulated their social conservatism within a discourse of women’s rights. “Empowering” women in this context is often construed by party cadres and activists as “liberating” women from “alien” habits and compulsions. This is becoming visible in the domestic sphere as recent debates on female circumcision indicate.

Another area that has been affected by the transition relates to the relations between Egypt’s majority Sunni Muslim community and its sizeable Coptic Christian minority. Already in the early days of the uprising, the regime saw in intercommunal conflict  a potent destabilizing factor. Although many commentators hurried to dismiss the tensions, the fact remains that the coexistence between the two communities has always been premised on fine and precarious balancing. As new social and political forces will strive for popular support they are likely to turn “difference” into “antagonism” and diversity into threat.     

Another challenge that will increasingly need addressing is the urgent need to integrate an increasingly vocipherous younger generation into the political system and the economic fabric of the country. Affected by both disenfranchisement and chronic unemployment, Egypt’s youth has been at the forefront of the country’s incomplete political transition and has invested a lot in change, a transformation of Egyptian society that has yet to come. From the barricades and the demonstrations to the realm of the social media, this highly diverse demographic group is increasingly gaining a voice and expressing its frustration. What is also interesting is that the visions of a new Egypt and the voice of this new generation of citizens have been largely articulated and taken shape through the use of the new media.

Despite socioeconomic disparities young people of diverse backgrounds have proved literate in the use of new media: the majority resorted to cellular phones while many used very effectively social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs against a disproportionately advantaged political class and the state apparatuses. Similarly, in addition to its impressive internet presence of old, there are indications that the Muslim Brotherhood is getting very adept in harnessing the networking potential of the new media to mobilise its own supporters.

Without underestimating the older, infotainment-oriented media, it is clear that political mobilization and the expression of social diversity in Egypt, is conducted and will be so, in public spaces partly shaped by the new media.

New Open Society Foundation (OSF) and University of Westminster fee waiver scheme for Home/EU/International MA in Diversity and the Media students

We are pleased to announce the creation  of a new fee waiver scheme for Home/EU/International MA in Diversity and the Media students starting in September 2012. These are funded by the Open Society Foundation (OSF) and the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications/University of Westminster.

Students will need to be able to fund their own living costs.  

The deadline for scholarship applications is 31^st May 2012 and, in order to be eligible, applicants should be holding the offer of a place on the course before applying for the scholarships.

Amount:       50-100% fee waivers for Overseas and Home/EU students

Eligibility:     You must hold an offer for the full-time MA in Diversity and the Media.

Criteria:         Academic and/or professional excellence and promise and financial need as outlined in the applicants’ scholarship applications.

Deadline:      31 May 2012

A number of fee waivers funded by the Open Society Foundation (London Office) and the Department of Journalism, Media and Communication are available. These cover 50% or the full cost (100%) of home/EU or overseas tuition fees for the MA in Diversity and the Media of the University of Westminster starting in September 2012.

Students will need to be able to meet their living costs and the amount of tuition fees not covered by the award (where applicable).

The deadline for scholarship applications is 31 May 2012. In order to be eligible, before applying for the scholarships applicants should be already holding an offer of a place on the course.

Fee Waiver Scholarships for MA in Diversity and the Media students

We are pleased to announce the creation  of three new scholarships for Egyptian students. These are funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and are full fee waivers for the MA in Diversity and the Media starting in September 2012.

Students will need to be able to fund their own living costs.  

The deadline for applications is 31^st May 2012 and, in order to be eligible, applicants should be holding the offer of a place on the course before applying for the scholarships.

The criteria will be academic excellence and the case they make in their scholarship application. For further information and the method of applying for the course  please contact the course director Dr Roza Tsagarousianou

Call for papers - Media Diversity in Theory and Practice

CALL FOR PAPERS

Day Symposium: 

Media Diversity in Theory and Practice 
Thursday February 2, 2012 
Dublin City University
Deadline for abstracts: September 15, 2011

The International Media, Interculturalism and Migration research cluster at DCU, together with the Journalism and Society working group, invites papers for a one-day symposium in February 2012. We are especially interested to hear from those with expertise in the areas of media diversity training and journalism education.

The symposium has two aims: firstly, to critically assess scholarly research to-date on diversity in the media, especially with regard to the experiences of individuals of migrant origin working in mainstream media organisations. Secondly, to examine if and to what extent diversity goals have been written into the recruitment and training policies and codes of ethics of mainstream media organisations. The symposium will conclude with a roundtable discussion involving academic researchers and industry professionals.

This symposium forms part of DCU’s involvement in the MEDIVA project, which seeks to strengthen the capacity of media to reflect the increasing diversity of European societies and to foster better understandings of immigrant integration. For those interested to learn more about the project please visit http://www.eui.eu/Projects/MEDIVA/Home.aspx

Please send 250 word abstract with a short biographical note to neil.oboyle@dcu.ie

Social diversity the focus of Italian local election

Wearing an elegant silk jacket, carrying a white Dolce & Gabbana handbag and sporting her customary silver eye shadow, the beleaguered mayor of Milan, Letizia Moratti, cut an incongruous figure as she scrunched across the gravel at an old Gypsy campsite in Milan last week.The 1,500 Gypsies who once lived here have long gone, which is why Moratti had brought the TV crews with her. "When I first came here, I saw an undignified way of life. Now there are zero Gypsies," she said, before listing the other Gypsy settlements around Milan that she plans to shut down if re-elected this weekend.Moratti's tough talk matched her mayoral campaign, which has been the most vicious and xenophobic in living memory.

This is the way the Guardian's Tom Kington introduces the key issues that have dominated Milan's local election in his article on 28 May. Letizia Moratti has built a strong following partly on her reputation as an ardent critic of multiculturalism. The local Roma have been her favourite target over the past few years, but attacks on Muslims and the danger they pose to social cohesion and the Italianness of Milan have also contributed to her image as uncompromising on such issues. 

Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has echoed this emphasis in his own website where he appeals against Moratti's opponent Giuliano Pisapia by drawing upon and cultivating fears related to the perceived destruction of the city's local fabric. "If Pisapia wins" he argues, "Milan will become a Muslim town, a Gypsyville of Roma camps, a city besieged by foreigners", while Massimo Corsaro, a Freedom People MP has been arguing along similar lines that "if Pisapia wins, there will be a boom in rapes and prostitutes on the streets," said.

The battle for Milan has been fought on the doorsteps of voters, in local markets and other public spaces of the city but also in the country's television networks, the press and cyberspace. The Berlusconi family owned Il Giornale has helped spread rumours and fear while regional and national television channels have hosted an array of right wing MPs and the prime minister himself trying to redefine the electoral confrontation along the local v foreigner dilemma. One thing is sure; the result of this electoral contest will leave its imprint on Milan and Italy as a whole and will inform debates on diversity in Italy for time to come.