OSCE supports specialized course and manual for journalists in Ukraine on gender equality and non-discrimination

KYIV, 3 July 2015 - A two-day workshop which presented a new course and manual on gender equality and non-discrimination for representatives of Ukraine’s media educational institutions ended today in Kyiv. The workshop was organized with the support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU).

The event brought together professors of journalism from educational institutions across Ukraine to discuss existing practices of incorporating gender aspects into training curricula as well as developing new Ukraine-specific approaches.

The development of the manual at the core of this discussion was facilitated by the PCU at the request of the Ukrainian Ministry of Social Policy in 2014.  It highlights the main concepts of gender-sensitive media coverage and provides case studies to illustrate good practices and challenges.

“Mass media plays a key role in both preserving and transforming behavioural models and social stereotypes,” said Ambassador Vaidotas Verba, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. “That is why, as part of the effort to advance gender equality in Ukraine, the PCU could not but support the initiative of the Ministry of Social Policy to begin educating media and advertising industry professionals on gender-specific aspects of their work.”

The publication offers a detailed plan of a short training course for media professionals as well as recommendations on how to teach on the subject. Before going public, a draft manual was piloted at practical seminars with media professionals in Kyiv, Lviv and Odessa. 

The workshop is part of a project to enhance gender mainstreaming in a conflict context in Ukraine.