The Stories of Overlooked People of the Czech-Polish Borderland

Inspired by our previous journalism series, Address: the Periphery, we recognise that there are groups of people whose voices are not heard and whose needs are not being considered. These are three main groups: workers, seniors and young people. We will work through the method of field encounters directly in the places where our target groups naturally present. We intend to involve our external collaborators who have emerged from our Journalism Simulator (supported in the LM4D call). Together, with a professional journalist, we want to gain people's trust and give space to their stories. We will then process these stories in the form of articles, podcasts and video clips. We will present the results to local authorities in order to seek ways to improve the quality of life of these groups in the region.

Goals (expected) of the project

We target groups that more easily inclined to populism, do not seek information in credible media and are not yet our readers. They generally question the credibility of any media or do not find its content attractive or relevant. Our goal is to reach out to these new groups of potential readers and strengthen the democratic society through building trust in our local media. Through a deeper understanding of the needs and challenges faced by overlooked groups, we want to open a dialogue with representatives of the authorities and the private sector and present our findings to them. By bringing new issues and different perspectives to the public debate, we want to reduce polarisation in society and contribute to better neighbourhood living.

The Stories of Overlooked People help them to strengthen their self-confidence and the sense of belonging to the local community, increase social sensitivity and empathy for vulnerable groups. They also inspire city administrations, public institutions, employers and organisers of local community events to better meet the specific needs of target groups.

In the very selection of target groups we try to take into account age, gender and ethnic diversity as much as possible. The group of workers includes the region's heavily represented Roma ethnic group, newcomers from Ukraine and Polish neighbours. The purpose of our project is to give a voice to all often neglected groups and to bring their stories and needs into the public debate. Through public meetings with respondents and representatives of municipalities and local authorities, we want to spark dialogue, strengthen inclusion and contribute to equality.