Vatican Conference on Peace
Journalism: Empathy, not only sympathy
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| Peace Journalism Conference, October 13th, 2018.(Vatican Media) |
In a world in which bad news floods the media, the Vatican
Dicastery for Communication holds a Conference on ‘Peace Journalism’, promoting
this concept – along with the peace that comes with it.
By Francesca Merlo
Four peace journalists from Italy, Lebanon, China and Norway
spoke on Saturday the 13th of October in an International
Conference on “Peace Journalism”, held in and hosted by the Vatican.
Professor Johan Galtung, the creator of the concept, was one
of these speakers. He defines Peace Journalism as “editors and reporters making
choices – about what to report, and how to report it – that create
opportunities for society at large to consider and to value non-violent
responses to conflict.”
Four peace journalists
Galtung highlighted the definition of peace, explaining that
there is ‘violence’, - which is self-explanatory; ‘negative peace’, which
implies a complete lack of interaction, either peaceful or violent, between two
parties; and ‘positive peace’, which means interactions that involve “linking
good to good”.
Rey-Sheng Her stressed the importance of ‘constructive
journalism’. He explained that journalists must make a concise effort at solving
problems and not simply “digging them out”.
Stefania Tanesini spoke of ‘dialogic journalism’. This
style, adopted within the focolari movement, describes the “concrete experience
of hundreds of journalists”, who hope that their style will strengthen an
empathetic and constructive dialogue whilst “constantly searching for peace”.
Vanessa Bassil was the fourth speaker. She is the founder of
Media Association for Peace (MAP): the first non-governmental organisation in
the Middle East, Northern Africa and Lebanon dedicated to fostering the role of
media in building peace.
Peace when surrounded by conflict
She explained to Marine Henriot the need for Peace
Journalism in the Middle East, an area of the world which is surrounded by
conflict, in which people feel the crisis, “people are desperate, they are
hopeless”, she said.
Bringing back hope
Vanessa believes that promoting a “constructive”, “hopeful”
and “inspiring” journalism would bring back hope to the people. It would help them
“deal with conflict in a more inspiring way, in a more constructive way”. “And
thus”, she concluded, “we will have a society that is more safe, that is more
secure and that is more peaceful.”
She also addressed the Syrian refugee crisis. Lebanon, with a
population of 4 million, is currently hosting 2 million Syrian refugees fleeing
conflict and hardship. “There is a lot of conflict between the host community
and the refugees”, she said.
Positivity in negative situations
“We have decided to report positive stories about refugees”.
By going out and meeting refugees living in camps, her and her colleagues tell
“stories that give hope, that give inspiration”.
Vanessa uses the example of a lady they spoke to who fled
Syria with her family. She told them about her “story of survival, of strength,
of how she was able to do all of this alone.”
Empathy, not only sympathy
This, according to Vanessa Bassil, shows that they are not
only “victims” but “independent people, capable of doing and of surviving”. And
she chooses to transmit this through “empathy, and not only sympathy.”
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