The Diversity Media Awards reward Italian media productions, people and companies that can transfer the concept of diversity as a value in the best way – because change is coming out, and we need to celebrate it!
Diversity Lab is an association supporting and promoting diversity, committed to reducing and fighting prejudice and discrimination against the LGBT community.
The main activities of Diversity Lab
include spreading awareness, providing diversity trainings for both private
enterprises and schools on the issues of emotional and sexual
orientation, gender identity and expression, and celebrating the best representations of diversity in media through the Diversity Media Awards.
Research behind the awards
In order to identify and award the best representations of diversity in media, Diversity Lab conducted an annual research surveying media products and measuring LGBT-related attitudes.
The research has been conducted with the collaboration of universities and research centers by analyzing media products according to internationally recognized standards – through mixed methods, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis.
For quantitative research, the Pavia Media Watch surveyed the main Italian newscasts and extracted their coverage on LGBT issues, creating a unique 10-year database.
For qualitative analysis, an interdisciplinary research group analyzed the most relevant media content produced between July 2014 and July 2015. A permanent monitoring mechanism was set up to collect data on LGBT-related topics in movies, radio programs, advertisements and TV series.
Media products were then subjected to a socio-semiotic analysis under the supervision of a dedicated scientific board, to determine whether the media message was positive, respectful and fair and able to engage the audience in a positive way.
And the winners are...
The very first edition of the Diversity Media Awards is finished at the end of May, and there are no doubts that the event has been a huge success. The event has been internationally covered and endorsed by celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg.
So, who are the winners? Here are some of them:
- Web - Outstanding Video Production: the winner is 10percento by Bad HoleVideo - a love story between two women told in an innovative way through 100 10-second clips shared on Instagram.
- Radio - Outstanding Production: the winner is the popular radio-broadcast "Pinocchio" by Radio Deejay, which takes advantage of its mainstream status to raise awareness on themes such as marriage equality and same-sex adoptions in a way that can be appealing to a young, broader audience.
- TV - Outstanding Series (Foreign): the winner is Grey’s Anatomy because it brought to Italy the first realistic representation of a lesbian love story to appear on mainstream TV.
- TV - Outstanding Series (Italian): the winner is È Arrivata la Felicità - a show produced by the main Italian broadcaster (Rai) which depicts a lesbian couple becoming parents amongst other, reassuring daily life stories.
- TV - Outstanding Program: the winner is Pechino Express, a popular reality show that, in its 2015 edition, extensively told LGBT people’s stories: those of contestants, staff members, and the presenter himself.
- Cinema - Outstanding Film (Italian): the winner is Io e Lei because it caters to a broad, mainstream audience, recounting an LGBT love story through the same narrative codes that are used to tell a straight love story. The movie has already won as Best Movie at the CILD Civil Liberties Award.
- People: Laura Pausini, the internationally acclaimed singer, wins as Person of the Year for having been vocal about LGBT rights during her concerts and on social networks (while launching her new album she also declared that she is not going to be married until LGBT people will be granted equal rights).
