The Observatory of Islamophobia in the Media organises a lab to fight gender-based Islamophobia

On Thursday October 25th, a social innovation lab was held by us in València with the aim of designing communication campaigns to fight gender-based Islamophobia. The activity was organised by the Observatory of Islamophobia in the Media and was moderated by Jovesolides with the help of innovative methodologies. Creativity and dialogue were the main features of this meeting.

One of the goals of this lab that took place in the Immigration Centre in València was to tackle the causes and consequences of gender-based Islamophobia. During the meeting, we reflected on the monolithic vision that society has about Muslim women and Islam. We also talked about how this perception is reproduced and perpetuated by the media.

Today, gender-based Islamophobia is a current issue. Discrimination at school, at work and in society due to the lack of acceptance of the headscarf by a part of society still goes on. In the digital age, many times this discrimination turns into Cyber Hate (on-line hate speech). As a matter of fact, in 2017 it represented 70% of the incidents listed in the last report of the Citizen’s Platform against Islamophobia (Plataforma Ciudadana contra la Islamofobia).

Workshop participants came from different Spanish cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Elche, Palma de Mallorca, Castellón, Murcia and Valencia. They offered many experiences from their daily life that had been shared in their association. These experiences enriched the collective debate that took place afterwards, as well as the work of participating groups. The ultimate goal: to generate a communication campaign against gender-based Islamophobia aimed specifically at the media and journalists.

In the meeting we also had the participation of Pedro Rojo, President of Al Fanar Foundation, and Lurdes Vidal, designated person for the Arab World and the Mediterranean at IEMed. Both were present at the lab as co-leaders of the Observatory of Islamophobia in the Media, project, where they also participated as partners; the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, the Three Cultures Foundation, Casa Árabe and the Campus Mare Nostrum (UM-UPC). The lab enjoyed the support of the València City Council.