BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 11. The press can serve
as a tool for changing perceptions of marginalized peoples, the
founder of the French news portal Musulmans en France, Jean-Michel
Brun said, Trend's
correspondent reports from the event.


Brun made the remark at an international conference on “Media
and Decolonization: Rising Voices, Amplifying Narratives” in
Baku.


“Colonization is a crime. However, some French presidents have
claimed the opposite. They sought to portray their crimes in such a
way as to avoid accountability and make them acceptable in the eyes
of the public. This was the case in all colonial powers. In
particular, the press did not show colonization as it really was,
but rather justified it and shaped a positive image of
colonialism.


In 1880, the French press portrayed colonization as France’s
“civilizing mission,” presenting it as a path to progress:
supposedly, hospitals and schools were being built, and security
was improving. In reality, however, all of this was used to exploit
these territories and intensify the suffering of their
populations.


“The press actively participated in creating this colonial
image,” he said.


Jean-Michel Brun noted that a colonial press also existed in
Algeria, French Guiana, New Caledonia, and Haiti. It contributed to
the formation of a colonial identity and presented events
exclusively from a French perspective.


“When it came to colonization, it was invariably portrayed in a
positive light. When indigenous peoples were discussed, they were
presented as something exotic. In the French press, their culture
was reduced to folklore and submissiveness,” Brun noted.


He emphasized that today the question arises: how can the media
and the press decolonize themselves?


“As journalists, we must be able to inform citizens by providing
more opportunities for marginalized people to speak out. We must
report on referendums, issues of independence, social problems, and
the history of slavery. We must address inequality, break down
stereotypes, and remind people of colonial history.


However, on the other hand, the media often portrays public
opinion in such a way that decolonization movements appear to be a
threat. We see this in the case of New Caledonia, where political
tensions persist. Instead of perpetuating such portrayals of
overseas territories and focusing solely on the violence occurring
there, we could be telling their stories and highlighting their
cultures,” he said.


In addition, he said, it is necessary to shed light on their
social and economic situation: “We should examine issues of public
policy, discrimination, social inequality, and the differences
between France and its overseas territories.”


Meanwhile, an international conference organized by BIG on the
theme “Media and Decolonization: Rising Voices, Amplifying
Narratives” has begun in Baku.


The conference is the first platform of its kind organized in
Azerbaijan with the participation of media representatives from
former colonial territories.


The conference brings together leaders and representatives of
media organizations from former and current colonial territories,
journalists, political commentators, representatives of diaspora
organizations, experts in media and communications, representatives
of civil society institutions, researchers, diplomats, government
officials, and representatives of local media.