Panel discusses inclusion and exclusion of people in the media

The differences of gender as they are dealt with in the media, the function of communication in religions and the inclusion of people with disabilities were some of the issues discussed in the panel “Diversity, Gender and Inclusion”, presented in the morning session of this Wednesday (13), on the 6th Conference on Media, Religion and Culture, which opened on Monday (11).

The first issue under debate was the “Global Media Monitoring Project”, presented by Dr. Luciano Sathler, president of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC-Latin America). The association analyzed 12,800 news programs in 2005 all over the world in order to verify how women appear in the media. The result showed that women are little emphasized as news and as information producers. “Women are shown in a way which is totally different from men, reflecting prejudice found in our societies. As we went deeper in this subject, we realized that the result is a mirror of reality”, Said Sathler. Women are displayed in the news – most of the times – as victims, celebrities or as members of royal families. Although the number of female presenters are increasing on TV, they are shown in a rather masculinized way and, as they grow older, they disappear from the media. “We have to guarantee the participation of women in leading positions”, he added.

The journalist and theologian Joyce Placa, executive secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Council of Methodist Evangelical Churches in (Ciemal – Conselho de Igrejas Evangélicas Metodistas da América Latina e do Caribe), presented the theme “Latin American Youth identity”. According to Placa, there have been 17 meetings with 600 youngsters from different cultures and religious denominations in order to develop Christian experience in youth. “Many adolescents suffer consequences of the actions of society and talk about possible alternatives for the social and cultural problems within their Christian identities”, she said.

For the researcher, communication is the greatest gift God gave to humanity and without it we cannot be truly humans. Communication, according to Placa, should be participative, liberalizing, and inclusive. “We are in search of unity, as far as the Christian kingdom is regarded”, she concluded.

The last talk was delivered by Tucá Munhoz, of the MID Institute (Minute for Inclusion) for the Social Participation of People With Disabilities. Munhoz explained how the project is developed and what the next steps are. “We want and try to receive information from people with disabilites. We fight for emancipation. Our next projects are the TV program Roda Bamba (Swinging Wheel), a printed paper distributed for free, and a news agency”, he stated.

The program Minute for Inclusion is distributed for free to radio stations that are partners, ammounting to 365 programs a year. “We stimulate the production of communication among people with disabilities. The limitation of the disabled is a fatality, but the exclusion is not”, concluded Munhoz.

Luciane Mediato
Tradução: Daniel Cruz (FACEL)