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IPCC - The Image of the Other Project
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The Image of the Other Project |
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 The Image of the Other Project
The Image of the other project is a research endeavor striving for identifying, listing and analyzing unjustified stereotypes as a preliminary step towards deconstructing them. It is a regional project and being conducted by the International Peace and Co-operation Center (IPCC)-Palestine, Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies (JIIS)- Israel and Horizon Center for Studies and Research in Jordan. The Project aims to achieve a better grasp of the mutual perceptions of Israelis, Palestinians and other Arabs, as reflected in representative samples of the printed press - mainly the daily newspapers. The project thoroughly analyzes the trends in the newspapers addressing audiences in Jordan, the Palestinian National Authority and Israel. The project contains two phases, the first phase of which started in July 1998. A core team of 12 public opinion shapers, sociologists, senior researchers and media experts were brought together from the three regions to work together on identifying stereotypes, derogatory descriptions, inflammatory as well as positive attitudes towards "the other". In the initial phases of the project the three organizations conducted a survey of images that were reflected in three daily newspapers in each country. The survey has managed to depict a comprehensive number of images under three different regional and cultural contexts. Consequently there was a need to standardize a coding system for documenting the news items (articles, photos and cartoons) that are to be analyzed. The coding system was adapted to the different styles, formats, and degrees of freedom of expression in the three different places. The first sample of the research covers a period of over 69 months starting from signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. The second sample is events-based, and concentrated on public responses to 39 major events, such as: Israeli cabinet approval of "Gaza/ Jericho first", the signing of the Oslo Accords, the Hebron Massacre, and the opening of the tunnel entrance in the Old City of Jerusalem. The team then established a taxonomy of all images reflected in the newspapers in Jordan, PNA and Israel in an attempt to understand and analyze the factors behind the construction and promotion of negative images. Researchers have coded more than 5000 news item and are in the process of analyzing the material. The results of the coding systems are documented in a computerized database for smooth data accessibility, retrieval and storage. The second phase is of the work is analysis of images and formulation of action-oriented recommendations by the core team to help deconstruct negative images in the three regions and promote more positive ones, particularly within Palestinian and Israeli societies.
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