How should we represent a man and a woman in photos and in other journalistic materials? What could men gain from gender equality? Why is it necessary for women to participate in politics and decision making, and what is the work of a woman journalist or photojournalist like? These are some of the issues discussed at the first discussion club meeting at the SAJ, which was attended by Swedish journalists Gunnel Bergström and Maria Dahmén as well as photojournalist Åsa Sjöström.

Bringing journalistic photography to the forefront, the agenda of the discussion club fully coincided with the Photojournalism module that is studied at the SAJ this week, since the first topic discussed was the promotion of gender equality through photographs. The photojournalist Åsa Sjöström presented to young people a number of photographic projects implemented in different countries and told them about the role of the media in general and of the journalist in particular in promoting the image of the man and the woman. According to her, gender equality should begin in early childhood and journalists should “educate the public through their own self-education.”

Gunnel Bergström and Maria Dahmén talked about gender stereotypes, about sexism and about the ethics and deontology of modern journalism. Swedish reporters insisted on the importance for the press to have articles not only on gender equality, but also on equality in terms of age, ethnicity, nationality, disability, color, religion, etc. “Try to find people and characters and write about their stories and destinies. Journalists represent the voice of the people, which too often remains unheard. Write not only about young and beautiful people, but also about the elderly or the disabled,” the guests noted.

At the end of the discussion the Swedish journalists came up with some useful advice and encouraged the students of the School of Advanced Journalism to pay more attention to gender issues in their future materials. In their opinion, a good reporter should be curious and brave and an active citizen, but he should always remain neutral to the issues covered in his articles.

The discussion club was organized jointly with the Association of Independent Press in cooperation with the UN program “Women in Politics,” implemented by UN Women Moldova and UNDP Moldova, with the financial support of the Government of Sweden.