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Media: Are there positive measures for promoting or restrictions for minority and lesser used language in the media?

Code:
RED119
Key Area:
Public Life, Culture, Sport & Media
Strand(s):
Discrimination, Equality
17/02/2012 - 21:30
Short Answer

The Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes [Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopts several measures concerning the media area of intervention, including promoting cultural and religious diversity in the media and stimulating the media to programming/information that demonstrates the cultural and linguistic expression in the resident migrant communities in Portugal.

Qualitative Info

According to the Contribution from Portugal to the Annnual Report of the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union 2009 there are media in other languages in Portugal, nammelly in Russian, and there is no report or complaint so far against any hindrance to their publication. Also, the report states that there is no evidence that public service broadcasting provides informational, educational, cultural and entertainment programming in any minority language. But there is also no evidence that the use of any specific language is prohibited in public broadcasting or in the media in general.

The I Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2007-2009) [I Plan for Immigrant Integration] and the II Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (PII, 2010-2013) [II Plan for Immigrant Integration] adopted several measures accross various policy areas, including media.

For the I Plan for Immigrant Integration (2007-2009) the "Media" area of intervention included the measures (pp. 33-34):

- To encourage the development of self regulatory mechanisms in the media, based upon ethical practice and professional deontology: development of self regulatory mechanisms that cover the domain of news about immigration by way of countering the perverse effects of inciting racism and xenophobia which the media can generate; appeal for the application of a standard rule that people are not to be identiļ¬ed neither by nationality nor by ethnic origin except when it is needed to explain news content;
- Nurturing cultural diversity in the media: stimulate the media to programming/information that demonstrates the existence of cultural diversity in Portuguese society, placing importance upon the cultural and linguistic expression in the resident migrant communities in Portugal.

For the II Plan for Immigrant Integration covering the period 2010-2013 the "Promotion of Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue" area of intervention includes two measures concernig media (pp. 38-39):

- Incentives for the development of self-regulation mechanisms in the media, structured around codes of professional ethics: providing incentives for the development of self-regulation mechanisms for
media coverage of immigration issues, with the objective of countering the perverse effects which the xenophobia induced by certain manners of presenting news can generate in public opinion; distributing relevant documentation produced by international organizations (the European Union, Council of Europe and UNESCO) among the principal epresentatives of the media sector;
- Promoting cultural and religious diversity in the media: urge the media to dedicate air time to programmes and information which examine the cultural and religious diversity of Portuguese society, projecting a positive image of the cultural and linguistic expression of immigrant cultures with communities in Portugal; develop information and training initiatives on intercultural dialogue, immigration and diversity with media professionals.
 



Source

ACIDI (2007), I Plan for Immigrant Integration (2007-2009), http://www.acidi.gov.pt/_cfn/4d346c9b80687/live/Consulte+a+versão+do+Plano+2007-2009+em+inglês+, Date of access: 26.01.2012.

ACIDI (2010), II Plan for Immigrant Integration (2010-2013), http://www.acidi.gov.pt/_cfn/4d346c9b80687/live/Consulte+a+versão+da+Plano+2010-2013+em+Inglês, Date of access: 26.01.2012.

ACIDI, (2010), Relatório Final: I Plano para a Integração de Imigrantes (2007-2009), http://www.acidi.gov.pt/_cfn/4d346c9b80687/live/Conheça+o+Relatório+Final+do+PII+%282007-2009%29, Date  of access: 26.01.2012.

Dias, B. Ralha, T. and Silva, E. (2009), Complementary Data Collection - Contribution from Portugal to the Annual Report of the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union, Vienna: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.

Data
Groups affected/interested Migrants, Ethnic minorities, Linguistic minorities
Type (R/D) Anti-migrant/xenophobia
Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas Media
External Url
Situation(s)
Library