In cooperation with the Fund for Social and Democratic Initiatives (FoSDI), WPN organised a panel on human security in the media. The results of a research on the media content were presented, and the participants discussed the role of the educational system and the creation of the public perception of security.
The Coordinator of WPN Dubravka Filipovski opened the event by saying how important it was to discuss the notion of human security in media, because, in this way, public opinion was formed. After hearing her words, Nataša Milojević, Chairwoman of FoSDI, asked the question if the media were still the so-called seventh force, or they became a mere reflection of our vulnerable security.
The next speaker was Brankica Janković, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality. She spoke about the development of the notion of human security as such, which was particular in the way that it placed individual humans under the security spotlight. She also spoke about the elements of human security and the protection of human rights.
Lola Milojević, FoSDI Project Manager, presented the research on human security contents in the Serbian media, with an emphasis on its gender aspect in the context of the migrant crisis. The research included the press, the electronic media and the internet in the period of four months. The research showed that a very small part of the media content was dedicated to migrants and gender
equality, showing a lack of knowledge about the notion of human security, a poor analysis of migrant-related topics, and the lack of use of gender-sensitive language in the local media.
The following participants took part in the discussion: women MPs; Svetlana Janković, Zorica Mršević and Dragana Petrović, members of the Government’s Working Group for drafting the NAP for Resolution 1325; Tamara Skroza, journalist of Vreme magazine; and other representatives of the media.
The conclusions underlined the need to strengthen the oversight of public institutions and their competences to sanction the violations of the Code of Conduct of the journalists of Serbia, and to increase the role of civil society organisations that would monitor the implementation of laws and regulations concerning security in the media content.
Panel on human security in the media
