This project aims to monitor the anti-Roma rhetoric in the Slovak news media and anti-Roma hate speech in social media, particularly in relation to the parliamentary elections in Slovakia (March 2016), and propose strategies and guidelines to effectively counter these anti-Roma incitements and statements through social media discussions. As a result, political parties and media will be more willing to open constructive discussion on the Roma inclusion issues. The project builds on the findings and contacts established in the previous project Messaging Matters and extends its scope. This project shifts the focus from finding the most acceptable framing and communication strategies of particular pro-inclusive policy measures in education and employment to searching for strategies to counter the anti-Roma rhetoric once these inclusive Roma policy measures are presented. The project uses the participatory research methodology to test these strategies in real-life social media discussions. In this sense, the project aims to contribute to changing the political and public discourse in relation to social inclusion of Roma mainly in the fields of education and employability, but to some extent also in housing, health care and social issues. Civic organisation Romano Kher – Roma House is a partner organisation in the project.
