More information
Description
The aim of this project is to counteract hate speech, discrimination and misinformation in the media. The project''s watchdog and educational activities include conducting a series of workshops and implementation of a social media campaign. We work with multinational youth in Bialystok and Wasilkow (Ukrainian, Belarusian and Polish) from secondary schools and final grades of primary schools as well as teachers. Our partner, and the venue for the project, is the Arsenal Gallery in Bialystok. The project combines media education about disinformation in the media, anti-discrimination education about countering hate speech and environmental education about the climate, refugee and social crises caused by the war in Ukraine. During the workshops, young people became aware of the mechanisms of prejudice, hate speech and discrimination work online, as well as how and why disinformation is created. They also learn about ways to counteract disinformation and hate speech. Based on the knowledge gained, a multinational youth working group will design and implement a social media campaign to counter anti-refugee hate speech.
Summary of project results
The project "Youth against hate speech. Workshops and social campaign with Polish and migrant youth in Białystok" was aimed at Polish and migrant youth aged 13-18 living in Białystok and the surrounding area. The institutional intermediary in these activities and the place of implementation was Galeria Arsenał in Białystok, but also Białystok primary and secondary schools and educational centers, including hospital wards. It developed over several months during workshop meetings in the field of media education, mainly regarding disinformation in the media, anti-discrimination education in the field of counteracting hate speech, and environmental education in the field of intersectional climate, refugee and social crises caused by the current war in Ukraine. Together with youth, we developed information and educational materials on the mechanisms of hate speech and other forms of discrimination, and short audiovisual forms were created, which formed the shape of a youth social campaign on social media, which are particularly susceptible to disinformation and anti-refugee hate speech.
During the project the following were carried out: - 24 hours of workshops on creating a safe space for young people, attended by a total of 32 people - 60 hours of workshops for young people in the field of anti-discrimination education, media education with elements of environmental education, attended by a total of approximately 350 people During the project implementation, the following was created: - 7 short video forms of social media campaigns intended for the social media environment. Each video has two language versions - Polish and Ukrainian. - PDF publication in two language versions: PL and AU with recommendations on how to act against hate speech and other forms of discrimination (mainly directed against migrants and refugees). - project accounts on social media: TikTok, Instagram and Facebook Information about people who benefited from the project: - a total of approx. 380 people took part in the workshops, including: 5 schools, 1 sociotherapeutic community center, 2 hospital wards - a total of approx. 5,000 people visiting social media channels (average total number of people who viewed posts/roles) As part of the project, the foundation cooperated with 6 organizations/institutions: 1. Project partner - Galeria Arsenał in Białystok; 2. PCK Białystok serving the "Jard" center for foreigners in Wasilków; 3. Municipal Cultural Animation Center in Wasilków; 4. "Creative Wasilków" Association in Wasilków; 5. ELEOS Specialist Day Support Facility in Białystok (socio-therapeutic center for children and adolescents); 6. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Center of the University Clinical Hospital in Białystok (day ward and closed ward).
As part of the project, especially during the workshop activities, we managed to: - deepen critical media and communication competences among Polish and Ukrainian youth enabling them to recognize fake news, disinformation, distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources of information, as well as identify, flag and counteract hate speech - deepen knowledge of the mechanisms leading to hate speech and other forms of discrimination and, together with young people, develop ways to counteract them - cause an increase in awareness of global social mechanisms, especially the nature of the polycrisis (overlapping migration, war and environmental crises) - strengthen the sense of responsibility among young people towards people at risk of social exclusion: especially migrants - strengthen self-esteem - mainly young people at risk of exclusion due to their family situation and mental crises attending the ELEOS sociotherapeutic community center and patients of a psychiatric hospital who participated in the project. The opportunity to show the results of their work to their peers greatly strengthened their sense of value and agency. The increase in knowledge, competences, skills and awareness occurred not only among young people, but also among teachers and educators who actively participated in workshops and creating social campaigns at school, hospital or care center. There was especially a lot of positive feedback from teachers from the Eleos community center and psychiatric hospital wards.