Almost 50 delegates from a wide variety of organizations attended the EBU Religion Seminar, hosted by the EBU Brussels office on Friday 24 March. This initiative was planned in collaboration with Shoku Amirani (BBC), and the participation and case studies reflected all distribution platforms. 

At the beginning of the day, Graham Dixon, EBU Head of Radio, drew attention to the EBU values, particularly diversity, which expressed the aspiration to build a ‘more inclusive, less fragmented society’. Given the PSM commitment to fostering societal development, EBU organizations are both uniquely placed to contribute and bears a unique responsibility. The contributions reflected from various angles on the responsibility of PSM in a world where religious issues are present in the media every day, and the need for balanced, thoughtful coverage has never been greater.  

Programming from various organizations was presented to demonstrate the initiatives that had already been taken, including the complete reading and discussion of the Quran on YLE Radio 1; De Nieuwe Maan from NTR Netherlands, presenting a diverse, nuanced view of the Muslim community, and the VRT Canvas programme. RTÉ Ireland presented about the changing nature of religious broadcasting, including their long-running programme ‘The Meaning of Life’, one of its responses to societal changes regarding religious practice and increasing ethnic diversity, while the BBC and WDR presented the ongoing editorial challenges this area presents.

The broadcaster presentations were framed by academic research on representation and stereotypes from Milica Pesic from the Media Diversity Institute; Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila, Professor of Islamic Studies at Edinburgh University, called for a more multifaceted presentation of Islam, while Dr Massoumeh Torfeh (LSE, London) spoke of ways she had countered militant propaganda while working for the UN in Afghanistan. Miqdaad Versi from the Muslim Council of Britain spoke of his work fact-checking Muslim-related stories, and seeking correction of careless journalism, while Bernd Hagenkord from Vatican Radio quoted Obama, ‘Ignorance is not a virtue’ and shared a Vatican video which promoted mutual understanding. 

Arguably, the future wellbeing of our societies may depend on the capacity for people from different faith traditions - and none – to develop mutual understanding. There was a strong desire among delegates to continue the discussion, and the Media Department will be looking for ways to achieve this, reaching out to those responsible for diversity across member organizations.