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Your prejudices are the voices of others[editar]

In 2005, the Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) launched a new campaign that completed the one initiated a year earlier under the slogan “Get to know them before judging them”, which sought to combat the unfair stereotypes associated with the Roma community. Under the slogan “Your prejudices are the voices of others”, the campaign intended to deactivate a key element of the process that leads to discrimination: prejudice. The campaign was funded by the European Social Fund.

When stereotypes become embedded in the social imaginary, they eventually become prejudices that generate suspicion and irrational fears towards the Roma community. The strategy of the campaign’s message was to deactivate these prejudices by highlighting the fact that these feelings towards Roma are conditioned by what others tell. It was intended to challenge the voices of the social context in which we live, the voices of those who educate us or the voices of the communication media. This was the basis of the creativity expressed in the campaign posters, which displayed the protagonist's face, on whose mouth was superimposed that of another person, symbolising the origin of the ideas expressed without reflection. Three versions of the poster were produced and adapted for different advertisement outlets (banners, magazine and newspaper advertising, street furniture, etc.).

This creative idea was transposed into the different elements of the campaign. The mouths featured on the poster were turned into a striking dubbing in the campaign’s TV spot. In the advertisement, one can see how non-Roma children playing together refer to other children of Roma ethnicity, with voice-overs of adults such as “Do not play with them”. The same action is repeated in other situations and the rejection of the Roma community is expressed through verbal assertions. The commercial breaks also used this resource, superimposing different voices.

The pieces of the campaign

The campaign, aimed at society in general and the communication media in particular, was composed of a television spot, two radio spots, three posters and various merchandising items. Each item had an inscription inspired by the slogan of the campaign; thus, the phrase “In here there is no prejudice of others” could be read on tee-shirts; “Watch that mouth” on lip salves; “I do not copy the prejudices of others” on folders; or “Delete these prejudices” on erasers, among others.

Cuña de radio de la campaña

Diffusion

The campaign was launched with an institutional presentation celebrated in Madrid on 10 November 2005, with the attendance of the then State Secretary for Social Affairs, Amparo Valcarce. The presentation featured the video “The soul has no colour”, which showcased a cover of the song of the same name created by the composer and worker of the Foundation Antonio Remache for the campaign “Get to know them before judging them”, which on this occasion was performed by the brothers Antonio and Juan Carmona y Lucas.

The national launch was followed by public presentations throughout Spain as well as at various European events. It was used as a benchmark of good practice for the awareness-raising campaign of the Council of Europe (Dosta!).

The campaign was supported by RTVE, which featured the TV spot free of charge for ten days. In addition, various Spanish municipalities ceded street furniture for the posters of the campaign. The media also covered the various public presentations, thus enhancing the impact of the campaign. In the weeks that followed the launch, the campaign had accumulated a total audience of 21 million people. 

In addition to the campaign’s webpage, which promoted its objectives, pieces of emailing were produced, as well as a specific campaign banner in order to disseminate the campaign through the internet.

Further information at: www.gitanos.org/conocelos

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