In Gyula, Hungary, between 2-9 November 2013
implemented a 6 days international training course on stereotypes, prejudices
and discrimination and how media can by useful tool for antidiscrimination and
inclusion, called „Comedy or Tragedy”, supported by European Commission – Youth
In Action Programme, organised by Benefit Association for Samuel Tessedik
College Students and Student Union of Szent Istvan University.The training
course based on principle and practice of non-formal education, taking into
account the needs of the participants' motivation and prior experience as the
starting point.
The
themes of the project was:
As youth workers, youth leaders we
work directly with young people and of course, we cannot know all the details
as family life, religion, cultural background, etc. of our target group. So
several times we don’t want and we can hurt. We can hurt with an innocent joke;
we can discriminate with a look, a phrase, an unconscious behaviour. Nowadays,
working with immigrants, Roma people, members of different ethnic groups, or
only with a young person simple, we cannot know which issue can be really
sensitive, as e.g. showing a funny short movie about religion or women can be
really discriminative towards someone and we even don’t know about it. We don’t
know that we discriminate.
So by our project we aim to make
people aware of their subculture, their behaviour towards differences, raise
awareness on their stereotypes and prejudices and spotlight when they
discriminate others even unconsciously. Foster understanding how media effect
their perspectives towards each other, how a joke can be discriminative even
without knowing it. Then as next step, turn it upside down, use media as tool
against discrimination. Use the popular tools what young people like nowadays
for the sake of anti discrimination and even invent projects and build
partnership around the topic as antidiscrimination by the tool as media
devices.
The
overall aim of the training course was:
To train youth workers and youth
leaders on using media (jokes, short movies and advertisements) as tools on
antidiscrimination. To make them aware of their own cultural background, and
how it influences them towards different cultures. To foster understanding the
reasons behind their reaction, stereotypes and prejudices, and to recognise
discriminations around and by them. To learn usage of new media technology on
antidiscrimination with for and by young people they work with.
Learning objectives
of the training course were:
- To raise awareness on culture, cultural diversity and own cultural identity;
- To make assessment on stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination in
general and self – assessment in personal and professional level in particular
;
- To improve competences as usage of new modern technologies as tools for
antidiscrimination;
- To be able to prepare, realise and evaluate jokes, short movies and
advertisements on antidiscrimination;
To create new partner
network among organisations and invent together future projects. 
