Both sides of the Mediterranean move towards the future through a feminist code

Journalists, researchers, and activists gathered at en event in Barcelona, where AMMPE is always present.
The situation of war, environmental and economic refugees in the Mediterranean zone; growing environmental contamination, despite commitments made by the European countries to deal with climate change; freedom of the press, and the work environment for women journalists in places where freedom of the press is at risk.
These and other topics were taken up at the conference, “Mediterranean Communication from a Feminist View,” which was organized by the European Network of Women Journalists and was held at the headquarters of the European Mediterranean Institute this past November 4 and 5, during which attendees dealt with the economic, social, and working conditions after the pandemic crisis, as well as its undeniable repercussions on the future of our planet.
“The pandemic has given us a dose of humility here on the north shore of the Mediterranean as it’s time we woke up to its reality. We either face problems to deal with it together, or we never will overcome them,” stated Carme Gual, Director of the Catalan Agency for Cooperation and Development, who agreed with Sahar Talaat, a journalist from Egypt, who added that “the pandemic is helping us get to know each other better and find out how to face this challenge. We now have a passport to the future, and I’m not just speaking of COVID.”

A SEA OF CONTRASTS
We need a new way to face the current energy crisis, one that leaves behind the classic model and that opens the way towards an economic model that is transformative, according to Jordi Sole, who added that without a doubt, Europe is the friendliest continent towards environment and that has the clearest goals, as for example those related to a reduction in the use of fossil fuels. Nevertheless, this contrasts with the reality of the southern shore of the Mediterranean, which faces its most urgent climate emergency. “Two shores, among the most unequal on the planet,” he added.
Dionysia Vouvou of Greece, Nariman El Chamaa of Lebanon, Sahar Talaat of Egypt, who were among the journalists representing the southern shore of the Mediterranean, agreed that governments must adopt urgent measures to regulate the extraction and production industries to respond to challenges posed by climate change.
Alaa Karajah of Palestine denounced the current emergency in the Gaza Strip and the continuous Israeli attacks. His Turkish colleague, Burcu Karakas stated that despite repression in her country, women are now organized. And Zoubaida El Fathi, anchor for the Telediario, a Spanish daily newscast at the top Moroccan TV network, emphasized that the show, “is not just a newscast but also is a link between second generation Moroccan immigrants to Spain, which allows them to be informed about what is happening in their country of origin.”
In addition, “the daily Telediario newscast is made up primary of women, and so one of its goals has been to give modern Moroccan women greater visibility as they have fought for visibility, and a place in a society that is male chauvinistic and whose traditions have always set them aside. Now is the time for women to speak up and be heard, especially as they know which road to take, and so are more able to help other women who have been left behind.”
El Fathi recalled that even though there are many Moroccan women mayors in the most important cities in the country, “this fact doesn’t make headlines, nor is it announced on newscasts, because unfortunately, the press and social networks seek other more sales worthy news.”
Most of the conferees agreed that social media has the greatest potential and capacity to influence society. These new forms of communication have allowed young men and woman and society at large to organize large protests that have been able to change the course of political and judicial decisions. However, they also lamented that harassment, persecution and threats against women have also invaded social websites and have converted them into a new venue for violence against women.

AMMPE APPROACHES ITS XXIV CONGRESS
During her presentation, Patricia Mayorga, President of AMMPE quoted the words of Italian feminist author Michela Murgia, who in her book “Stai Zitta” (Keep Quiet) analyses the two most important and highly circulated newspapers in Italy (Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica), proving that women mostly do not have bylines on newspapers’ first page, and even fewer editorial columns, though they do cover lighter and mostly non-political subjects
On the other hand, AMMPE President Patricia Mayorga highlighted the unanimous vision held by journalistic colleagues from different areas of the world who gathered at the latest AMMPE international meeting on November 2, 2021, and who in response to the question, “Does equality exist in the media worldwide?” unanimously answered, “no.”
At the closing of this event, she invited all its participants to the next AMMPE world congress to be held in 2022 in Rome, Italy. She stated that one of the desired goals of this next Congress is the creation of a large press agency where women can gain visibility, not just as victims but also as creators and forgers of their own destiny.
Alicia Oliveri, Coordinator of the European Network of Women Journalists, and one of the organizers of this event stated that, “these have been two hope-filled days where we have been able to hear and get to know the different realities that we women journalists face en each of our countries. I believe it has been very important for us to meet in person after more than 18 months of pandemic.”
“Without a doubt, our greatest present challenge is to organize, and be able to work together in order to achieve wider and more distant goals, while at the same time face new challenges that stand in the way of achieving a more egalitarian and feminist journalism for women.”