Together for Life Association, with the support of UN Women Albania, organized a training with journalists with the aim of increasing capacities in the field of gender equality, with a special focus on gender reporting in elections. In this training was discussed the role of the media in representing women and the impact it has on their participation in politics.
In the first part of the training, Alma Lahe, legal expert, focused on the analysis of national and international legislation and standards that promote gender equality. The participants were introduced to the legislation of the European Union and the EU's approach to gender equality, underlining that the inclusion and integration of the gender perspective is an obligation for member countries.
At the same time, it was also discussed regarding the progress that Albania has made in drafting of the legislation that recognizes and guarantees equal rights for women and men.
The second part of the training was led by Valbona Sulçe, media and communication expert, who focused on changes in the audiovisual media law related to sexism, the production of gender-focused articles, and the challenges of disinformation, threats and online bullying for politicians. Expert Sulçe pointed out that reporting with a gender perspective should not exclude men but should include all perspectives in an equal way. She also emphasized the importance of taking into account differences between women and men in reporting to provide relevant information for both genders.
The activity concluded with discussions on the role that the media can play in improving the representation of women in politics and in elections. Participants were encouraged to continue to apply the best gender reporting practices they had learned during the training in their daily work. The discussion was focused also on the organization of a second training and opportunities to continue the cooperation and awareness on the important issues of gender equality.
