Disability and Media: Real Live Media

The main objectives of the ´Real Live Media´ project are to improve the portrayal of people with disabilities in the media and to act as a change agent to promote social inclusion and non-discrimination.

The Real Live Media Project aims to translate article 6 of the Madrid Declaration on non-discrimination and positive action into reality for people with learning disabilities.

Article 6 - “The Media should create and strengthen partnerships with associations of people with disabilities, in order to improve the portrayal of disabled people in mass media. More information on disabled people should be included in the media in recognition of the existence of human diversity. When referring to disability issues, the media should avoid any patronising or humiliating approaches but focus instead on the barriers disabled people face and the positive contribution to society disabled people can make once these barriers have been overcome”.

This one year project is a collaboration between FENACERCI (Portugal) and four transnational partners: FEAPS (Spain), HFT (UK), Inclusion Europe and The European Institute for the Media (Germany). In Portugal, Spain and England, partnership is being developed with media, journalism schools and self-advocacy groups.

The strategy is to build on the significant media interest that has been achieved during the European Year of People with Disabilities and take this one step further in relation to people with learning disabilities, specifically by empowering them to work effectively with the media, and to use the media as a tool in promoting policy solutions, and a new progressive vision of people with intellectual disability or multiple disabilities in today's society.

We need to go beyond the “awareness” of media professionals to a new level of recognition, and respect for people with intellectual disabilities as equal partners, and to ensure they internalise effective ways of working with people with intellectual disabilities, and thus their portrayal to their target audiences. Through specific joint activities, the project will also produce ´model´ multimedia material with which to inform and sensitise the public about self advocacy and its primary role in empowering people with intellectual disabilities to live real lives.

The project wants to recognize the rights and skills of intellectual disabled citizens and the need for their active participation in developing positive image, avoiding prejudice and building a more inclusive society.

The Real Live Media website can be found at: http://www.realivemedia.org

Resources on the Real Live Media site include the guide for media professionals:
www.realivemedia.org/english/deliverables/guide_for_media_professionals.pdf

The Real Live Media Project is coordinated by FENACERCI, Portugal www.fenacerci.pt
and partners with
FEAPS, Spain, www.feaps.org
HFT, UK, www.hft.org.uk
Inclusion Europe, Belgium, www.inclusion-europe.org
The European Institute for the Media, Germany, www.eim.org
RTP, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, www.rtp.pt
Escolar Superior de Comunicação Social, www.escs.ipl.pt