In March 2006, one of the local newspapers in Chomutov, Czech Republic printed an article that blamed Roma for the spread of avian flu. Using the skills gained through the cooperative advocacy trainings, members of the Chomutov Conciliation Commission decided to address this issue. They scheduled a meeting with the paper’s editor in chief to discuss the negative repercussions of inaccurate articles. The editor expressed surprise, admitting he had no idea that the article could be interpreted negatively or could have harmful long-term effects. After a lengthy discussion, the editor realized his mistake and grew quite interested in the commission’s work. He now has a close relationship with commission members and is reporting on the group’s activities. The paper has already covered one meeting and has plans to publish additional stories in the future.

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