Symposium for journalists: “Towards the Equality Olympics”
On Wednesday 3 July 2024, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano (“Cattolica”University) hosts "Towards the Equality Olympics", a symposium dedicated to the theme of equal opportunities in sports journalism, which is highly topical in view of the imminent Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in which, for the first time, an equal number of male and female athletes will participate: 5,250.
The meeting will hear from experts and teachers from the School of Journalism and ALMED (High School in Media, Communication and Entertainment) of Cattolica University, as well as from prominent women athletes who will talk about their experience as women sports professionals. The sportswomen included Paralympic skiing champion Chiara Mazzel, who spoke about how sport has been a central source of strength in living with her disability. She pointed out that while the Paralympics lead the sporting world in respect of gender equality, they are still under-reported by the sports press.
Instead of merely pointing at the problems of sports journalism from a female perspective, the symposium also discussed possible solutions. The problem of equality in sports reporting regards not just quantity - though women athletes globally receive just 5% of media coverage - but also and above all, the quality of the coverage. Ethical codes can be applied to counter the frequent use of demeaning language, which often focuses on the bodily shape and private life of women athletes rather than on their sporting performance. The ethical principles are spelled out in a paper called Donne, Sport e Media: idee guida per una diversa informazione [Women, Sport and Media: guidelines for a different sort of information] , and likewise set out in the #100esperte [#100experts], a project of Osservatorio di Pavia and Associazione GiULiA, developed in partnership with the Bracco Foundation that provides public speaking and communication opportunities to highly qualified women working in scientific fields in which women are still under-represented.
The symposium, which takes place with the support of the Lombardy chapter of the Order of Journalists and partner organizations, is open both to the general public and to journalists, who receive five study credits for attendance.
