November 22-23-24, 2023, Hybrid Event, In-Person and Online on FAD Platform
The key themes of the eighth edition of the Forum of Mediterranean Women Journalists are: #AIjournalism #promptjournalism #promptknowledge, all of which are at the heart of the epoch-making challenge posed by artificial intelligence to journalism and knowledge production. The title “WOmaNchine learning” alludes to the need for generative AI to be expanded to include “other” and non-majority ways of reading and viewing reality, including gender and ethnic minorities, sexual orientation, and skills.
In Europe, only 16% of AI professionals are women. If all knowledge is always concentrated in the usual male majority, even in the field of AI and in the global information system, this gender gap will create a contaminated ecosystem where power is self-reinforcing, following a mechanism based on binary and inherently violent opposites (us/them), nullifying the “choral” practice of non-violence
Article 5 bis of the Code of Ethics, as well as the Charter of Rome included in the Code of Ethics, require journalists to use the correct gender language, without gender stereotypes, when reporting on cases of violence and femicide. But some AI-powered translation tools might exclude the female gender in the transition from one language to another, or reproduce “racial” stereotypes when it comes to representing foreigners or migrants, thus reproducing the historical matrix of colonial power in the modern era. These are just some of the critical issues that experts already see on the horizon. On the other hand, the challenges and opportunities for the mass media world are endless and in many cases have already been addressed by newsrooms.
The Forum of Mediterranean Women Journalists brings together the voices of different women: from journalists to civic activists, human rights defenders, representatives of institutions, academics, researchers, from Italy and abroad, to train journalists, students and key stakeholders.
The aim of the Forum is to propose a sense of difference, a “different” vision from the dominant one, starting from the analysis of the language in which women speak and are narrated, including their personal struggles, collective commitments and war experiences, both in conflict zones and in post-conflict situations. It is about the decisive role of women in building a world of peace, security and conflict resolution, even when this world and these worlds are “virtual”, “augmented”, “artificial”, in order to highlight and make known that women, even more than men, have to fight for their voices to be heard and for space to actively participate in peacebuilding.
Methodology
Students of Bari University, journalists and aspiring journalists are invited to participate in this Forum, which will enable them to improve their understanding of forgotten conflicts and women’s peace-building activities in war zones, as well as in other types of wars, including “virtual wars”. The numerous invited panelists include: women scientists and academics, war journalists and reporters, representatives of the diplomatic, humanitarian and international cooperation world, as well as women migrants and refugees from conflict zones, women experts in new technologies, virtual reality, augmented and artificial intelligence, gathered together to collect testimonies on the impact of these realities on “bodies”, “ecosystems”, ” communities” and on the role that women themselves play in promoting peace and security initiatives and conflict resolution, reconstruction and reconciliation..
Scientific Committee
Loredana Perla, Director of the For.Psi. Department, Uniba
Luigi Cazzato, Coordinator of the Master in Journalism, Uniba
Marilù Mastrogiovanni, Founder of the Forum
Lorena Carbonara, University of Calabria
Armida Salvati, Uniba
Rosa Gallelli, Uniba
Ylenia De Luca, Uniba,
Filippo Silvestri, Uniba
Antonella D’Autilia, Uniba
Laura Corradi, Unical
Claudia Attimonelli, Uniba
