In the last three days, I have been attending and presenting at the European Parliament’s Democracy Forum located in Strasburg, France. As I woke up on Wednesday morning for the first day of the conference and the news of the upcoming four years of a Trump administration, I entered a very weary conference, afraid of what is to come to Europe and the world.
On the bright side, the discussions were inspiring and I wanted to share them here. I came to the conference to present the work of CourageousRI that the Media Education Lab did in the last two years and listening to many other initiatives aiming to strengthen liberal democracies around the work. More than 500 international activists attended and talked about their work fighting every day to sustain and protect democratic practices and institutions. In the last panel, Georgios Katrougalos, UN representative and former Foreign Minister of Greece, stated that populism is not a problem of democracy, it is a symptom of democracy flaws – inequalities. As he explained, the root causes of inequalities in democracy are because of unequal distribution of wealth. It is not because of the populists, but the new liberal policies that keep erupting the democratic institutions and allowed for wealth inequalities. This statement helped put the results of the U.S. election in proportion and context of a global fight that morphed from the cold war socialists again capitalists toward a fight on liberties, accessibility, and voice. The core values of media literacy education.
On Wednesday, while attending the Democracy Forum, I also gave an hourlong webinar for Bournemouth University’s Centre for Science, Health and Data Communication Research titled: Can we empathize with each other online? On purpose, I scheduled the webinar on the morning after election night several months ago without knowing what the results would be. The participants from the UK and the US came skeptic and exhausted. The discussion was very lively and with difficult questions about the future of democracy, journalism, and empathy. Eventually it all came back to talk about how can we provide empathy in the form of voice and inclusion to all while keeping healthy boundaries and courageous space.
In a nutshell, empathy online or face to face is an active engagement with fellow humans, not a marketing technique or a business transaction. While we see how tech entrepreneurs like Elon Musk took X to be an amplifier of people’s opinions instead of a tool for dialogue and socialization. With the upcoming U.S. populist government, many current (and already limited) regulations on social media might be lifted. However, the fight I talk about is not just about regulation, it is about providing an alternative to the attention economy. When asked at the end of the webinar what I see for the future, I answered that we need to offer a dialogical/nonviolent process and platforms for people to engage with each other genuinely. If you read until here, I am asking you to reflect on this question:
Can you imagine a future where you engage with people different from you by creating a place for a deep connection?
I am not talking about scrolling on posts, not about echo chambers of only people you agree with, but waking up in the morning energized to start the day that will be full of empowering engagement with people who’s energies fill your inner battery to fulfill your potential. Sounds like an unreachable fantasy? Already there are models of community journalism, alternative online platform that are dialogue based, and grassroots organizations that are reflecting community needs and not just detached stakeholders. In the last session of the Democracy Forum, Frédéric Bierry, President of the European collectivity of Alsace, France said that we need to thrive to follow the process of making Italian coffee from the bottom, then boiled it up, and finally it disseminate down.
When asked about the challenges of having a violence prevention based on media literacy, I named all the issues we faced but also made sure to highlight the power of the participatory nature of our CourageousRI project. Similarly to the metaphor of making Italian coffee, the only way to address the inequalities that makes populist rhetoric so attractive is to provide real voice and engagement. This is the only path to rebuild trust in democracy, journalism, and government. The work I have been doing in the last six years with the online MA in Media for Social Impact is the foundation of this participatory approach. Living in Chicago inspires me daily. I witness so many examples of grassroots and activism that so many Chicagoans are involved with. Seeing the work of my graduate students enabling various communities around the world to not only have a voice, but to act on it and make a real change.
What I am trying to say is that we have already many caae studies, people, and organizations that can inspire you as they have inspired me. Look at our community members of the Media Education Lab.
Bringing this blog to a close, we can advocate for regulation, social change, and more inclusivity. Nevertheless, it is upon each of us to keep the good fight. Hate speech might be growing, but we need to counter it with love toward humanity. We can do it through empathic dialogues and sharing stories. Many media entrepreneurs made the attention economy our habits of life. However, so many media makers and educators brought us stories and practices that shed a light on our humanity. So let’s keep the good fight for humanity and human rights to have a liberties, access, and voice.
Onwards and Forwards my friends!
One last resource that I got from a friend in our community email threads was the poem by Venice R. Williams, Executive Director of the Fondy Food Center in Milwaukee and Alice's Garden Urban Farm:
You are awakening to the
same country you fell asleep to.
The very same country.
Pull yourself together.
And,
when you see me,
do not ask me
“What do we do now?
How do we get through the next four years?”
Some of my Ancestors dealt with
at least 400 years of this
under worse conditions.
Continue to do the good work.
Continue to build bridges not walls.
Continue to lead with compassion.
Continue the demanding work
of liberation for all.
Continue to dismantle broken systems,
large and small.
Continue to set the best example
for the children.
Continue to be a vessel of nourishing joy.
Continue right where you are.
Right where you live into your days.
Do so in the name of
The Creator who expects
nothing less from each of us.
And if you are not “continuing”
ALL of the above,
in community, partnership, collaboration?
What is it you have been doing?
What is it you are waiting for?
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