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Description
The project "Collaborative & Engaging Critical Thinking Lab" aims to strengthen human rights-respecting public discourse by fostering critical thinking in the field of human rights among the project''s target groups - the undecided and young people - by raising their awareness and resistance to disinformation and hate speech. Positive human rights discourse will be brought to the fore by applying the principle of inclusiveness and by organizing joint meetings and workshops for target group representatives, journalists, and human rights experts in 10 regions of Lithuania. The jointly developed stories based on concrete examples will highlight the importance of human rights, the consequences of human rights violations, and the impact of human rights violations on our daily lives, and, through integration with various media and other means of communication, will be transformed into multi-media stories that will reach thousands of people in Lithuania through a social media campaign. The communication campaign will use inclusive tools to encourage people to think about human rights from a personal perspective (e.g. "Editorial on Wheels", "Living Library" etc.). The principle of inclusiveness will help to achieve an increase of at least 15% of the target group that does not accept public statements expressing negative attitudes or hatred towards vulnerable groups. In addition, the impact of the campaign will be reinforced through peer education: 50 young peer educators empowered in human rights education will multiply their experience in their regions, involving 750 people through ongoing human rights education activities.
Summary of project results
The project "Collaborative & Engaging Critical Thinking Lab" aimed to address several interrelated issues that were exacerbating the challenges within public discourse on human rights. The project specifically targeted the escalation of negative public discourse, the rise in misinformation, and the incitement of hatred, particularly affecting the segment of society that was still undecided or less informed about human rights.
The root causes identified included geographic disparities, a decrease in engagement with mainstream media, and limited opportunities for stigmatized groups to be heard in public spaces. These factors contributed to a lack of critical thinking and resistance to misinformation among the public, making them more susceptible to divisive or extreme viewpoints.
Moreover, the project noted that stigmatized groups often lacked visibility and voice in the media, which hindered broader societal understanding and empathy towards these groups. By fostering a more inclusive and human rights-respecting public discourse, the project aimed to improve societal attitudes and reduce stigmatization, thereby strengthening the social fabric and community resilience against misinformation and hatred.
The "Collaborative & Engaging Critical Thinking Lab" project implemented a variety of strategic activities and outputs aimed at enhancing public discourse on human rights and fostering a more informed and critical society. The project was multifaceted, involving direct interaction with the community, multimedia storytelling, media monitoring and educational initiatives, particularly targeting areas where misinformation and human rights misconceptions were prevalent.
Key Activities:
1. Media Monitoring and Multimedia Story Production: the team conducted media monitoring to analyse the representation of stigmatized groups and assess public discourse on human rights, which helped to identify gaps and biases in media coverage. In addition, multi-media stories on human rights were published and disseminated in collaboration with stigmatized groups and human rights experts, which enhanced public understanding of human rights and fostered more inclusive public discourse on various polarizing issues.
2. Engaged Journalism events ("Newsroom on Wheels") and the implementation of the "Living Library" Method: These innovative approaches were designed to bring journalism closer to the community and vice versa. "Newsroom on Wheels" involved mobile editorial teams traveling to different regions,
setting up temporary newsrooms that facilitated direct interaction between journalists, human rights experts, and the local community. The "Living Library" method allowed people to ''borrow'' real people instead of books for conversations, enabling personal storytelling and humanizing various social issues.
3. Social Media Campaign and Peer Education: Recognizing the power of social media in shaping public opinion, the project executed targeted social media campaign to amplify the reach of its stories and messages. Additionally, peer-to-peer education programs were conducted, especially involving young people, to cultivate media and information literacy skills.
Outputs:
- Multimedia Stories: Overall, 71 story was produced and disseminated through various media outlets, ensuring wide accessibility and impact.
- Community Engagement: Through the traveling newsrooms and living libraries, the project engaged directly with over 721 individuals, promoting dialogue and understanding across different segments of society.
- Improved Public Attitudes: External and executor-commissioned studies measuring the effectiveness of activities recorded a positive change in public attitudes on human rights issues: 19.8% reported an improved opinion about refugees, 10% about migrants.
- Educational Impact: The peer-to-peer education efforts reached around 1158 young individuals, equipping them with the skills necessary to critically evaluate media content and understand human rights more deeply.
These activities collectively aimed not only to educate and inform but also to transform how human rights are discussed and perceived in public discourse, making a significant impact in communities by fostering a more inclusive, empathetic, and well-informed public.
The project achieved the following quantitative results:
- Implemented human rights awareness campaigns which reached 4,399,243 individuals (non-unique users), of which 5,147 got directly engaged in the dissemination of human rights messaging.
Number of individuals familiarized with human rights and equal treatment principles - 2069, out of which:
- 721 participated in the “Living Library” and/or "Editorial on Wheels” events: 721 (original target - 600).
- 32 students (15-18 years) engaged in media literacy and critical thinking training and subsequently conducted non-formal education activities to their peers reaching an overall number of 1,316 students (original target - 750).
Number of individuals reached indirectly familiarized with human rights - 319,511, out of which:
- Individuals actively engaged in disseminating human rights campaign content on social media: 5,147.
- Individuals reached by campaign content via social media: 131,059.
- Individuals exposed to multimedia storytelling on the bendra.lt website: 27,000.
- The majority of human rights-themed stories published during the project were republished in regional or national media, expanding the project''s audience reach. The reach of republished content on partner websites is yet to be determined.
The project achieved significant qualitative outcomes across various sectors as well:
1. Media Landscape Impact: The project facilitated media''s evolution in several ways. Monthly media monitoring identified harmful narratives, prompting media outlets to modify their communication towards certain societal groups. Improved representation of marginalized communities was observed. Methodologies for inclusive journalism were developed, influencing national media to better understand audience needs and establish closer ties with regional populations. Other media outlets began experimenting with audience engagement methods, sometimes adopting terminology introduced by the project, such as "Radijas ant Ratų" by "LRT Opus"
2. Human Rights Sector Impact: The project countered misinformation and hate-driven narratives, empowering the human rights sector, especially in regions with significant societal value gaps. Though direct impact assessment is challenging, increased interest in multimedia storytelling suggests successful outreach to regional populations, enhancing their awareness of human rights.
3. Impact on Vulnerable Groups and the General Public: Vulnerable groups were empowered to advocate for their rights, actively participating in project activities and challenging societal stereotypes. Activities fostered deeper empathy between society and these groups, potentially mitigating discriminatory narratives. While assessing direct societal opinion change is complex, enhanced media literacy among youth suggests a long-term impact on critical thinking and resilience to misinformation.
Media4Change plans to sustain its efforts through continued media monitoring, dissemination of multimedia stories, and expanding methodologies like "Human Libraries." Post-project, research findings will be shared widely, contributing to broader discussions in the human rights sector and academia, ensuring long-term societal impact.