Recent events show that antisemitism is a serious challenge to democratic societies in Europe. At a meeting of EU Education Ministers March 2015, a ‘Declaration on Promoting citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education’ was made. The declaration stressed the need to empower teachers so that they are able to take an active stand against all forms of discrimination and racism, to educate children and young people in media literacy, to meet the needs of pupils from diverse backgrounds and to prevent and combat racism and intolerance. This project aims to provide online tools that will assist educators and learners to understand the complex mechanisms that play in Europe today, empowering both educators and learners in a project that will initially be developed for six countries. This project builds on the experiences that OSCE/ODIHR, the Anne Frank House and partners made with teaching materials on antisemitism and other forms of discrimination in 14 countries. During 2013 and 2014 needs assessment analysis took place in an international participatory research with both end-users (young people and their educators). Two intensive week long conferences were held: one with 41 youth from 9 countries and one with experts 65 educational experts from 14 countries. The results of these meetings are being used to set the priorities in developing this project. See the reports of both events at http://www.storiesthatmove.org. The objectives of the project are to: - Make educators and young people aware of manifestations of antisemitism and other forms of discrimination in their environment - Contribute to the mainstreaming of education about these topics, using innovative online tools - Support educators in addressing discrimination in all its forms, especially making clear to educators and young people that antisemitism is an issue that is relevant today - Make clear to teachers and learners that the discrimination that Jews face today is embedded into the wider context of the discrimination of minority groups, including Roma, Muslims and LGBT - Facilitate an exchange of good practices - Increase the digital competencies of both educators and learners - Offer an online tool with a clear pedagogical framework, enhancing online and blended learning - Provide an inclusive pedagogical approach that will strengthen young people’s ability to think critically and to reflect on their own position and choices Educational organisations from six countries will work together for the development and implementation. They will work with a wider network of ‘early adaptors’ to test the online tools. Using all the dissemination lines of each of these partners the online tool will reach to approximately 4200 educators and 250000 learners during the project period. The main activities are the development of content, the design and production of the website that will contain all learning materials in six languages and the implementation of the project in six countries. During team meetings the partners will agree on content, methodology and form and discuss the test results and prepare the implementation. Each partner will organise multiplier events in his country. Results - A website with modules on identity and diversity, discrimination, historical biographies, taking action and media literacy - Increase of digital skills of educators by providing an attractive online learning tool; - Empowerment of educators to address a sensitive and complex field - Wide scale dissemination of pedagogical concepts that are crucial to greater acceptance and appreciation of diversity and of didactical tools enabling learners to grasp the complexity of diversity and discrimination - International exchange on responding to antisemitism and other forms of discrimination that will continue to influence the educational field, leading also to follow up, with new countries requesting to join the project - The partners will have strengthened their capacity nationally and internationally; - A momentum in education against discrimination and a significant contribution to greater inclusion of minorities and rejection of discrimination across Europe - An education tool, that will address the local situation in relation to discrimination in the lives of young people, also bringing an European perspective - Intensive sharing of methodologies in which the partner have engaged will be extended to educational experts and practitioners across Europe. This will not only facilitate the process of developing an online tool on diversity and discrimination on a European level, but will supply it with country-specific topics, stories and identities Potential longer benefits: A tool that can be accessed European wide A tool that is open for new partners A tool that will add new local content on a yearly basis A tool that will be critically analysed by users making it more relevant and sustainable in the future.
Antisemitism, racism and discrimination are still present in Europe nowadays affecting the lives of young people everywhere. The online toolbox Stories that Move challenges learners to think about diversity and discrimination, and to reflect on their own position and choices in these matters. Schools are looking for ways to become truly inclusive and to develop a school culture of learners who have “the power to act”. Educators feel the need to use the available technology to amplify learning and promote student agency. Blended learning can play an important role in empowering both educators and learners. The toolbox consists of five ready-to-use learning paths with multiple layers of information, assignments and life stories. In short film clips young people share their positive experiences but also those of exclusion, discrimination and hate crimes. These poignant and recognisable stories form the starting point of an honest exploration of many topics related to discrimination. The objectives of the project are to: • Make educators and young people aware of manifestations of racism, antisemitism and the many faces of discrimination in their environment. • Inspire schools to create space for conversations about complex and sensitive issues. • Use the power of the voice and the agency of young people to empower learners and educators to speak out against discrimination. • Contribute to the mainstreaming of education about these topics, using blended learning techniques and visible thinking routines. • Support educators in addressing discrimination in all its forms, making clear to educators and young people that antisemitism is an issue that is relevant today • Make clear to teachers and learners that the discrimination that Jews face today is embedded into the wider context of the discrimination of minority groups, including Roma, Muslims and LGBT. • Facilitate an exchange of good practices. • Increase the digital competencies of both educators and learners. • Offer an online tool with a clear pedagogical framework, enhancing online and blended learning. • Provide an inclusive pedagogical approach that will strengthen young people’s ability to think critically and to reflect on their own position and choices. Nine organisations from seven countries worked together to develop five learning paths for students that can be used within an online closed classroom. Eight educational organisations were engaged in content development and implementation. Eagerly internet, the ninth partner, was responsible for the technical design and development. The partners developed a rich website with supporting information for educators, with a precise step by step guide for each learning path, background information on key pedagogical issues and 17 short clips by seven experts on pedagogical issues relevant to the topics and methods that the educators will be working with. The first online testing period (autumn 2016 – spring 2017) of the first three learning paths gave insights regarding the technical improvements that were essential for the further development of the online learning tool and on some aspects of the content, notably the extra information that educators needed. A report on the test results is available as appendix 3. By Oct. 2018 3133 users have made an account. See apppendix 4. There is a progressive number of educators logging in to the tool. Although we are very much behind on the target number of 4000 educators, the number is growing fast from 237 at the start of 2017 to 1097 in Oct. 2018. The video clips that form the core of the content have more than 10.000 views. The supporting website for educators has been visited by over 6000 people. It is clear that many educators are using the materials without their students creating an account. The appreciation of the online tool by the early adaptors is high, as is indicated in the user-surveys that we conducted and the direct contact with users at the international conference, June 2018 and at other occasions (see appendixes 3 en 5). Further analysis of the online and offline use of the tools is ongoing, as is implementation. Over 30 presentations, workshops and professional development seminars are planned in the next year. The (social) media coverage is ongoing. See appendix 1. Stories that Move was awarded the Comenius EduMedia medal for excellent teaching materials 2018 by the Institute for Pedagogy and Media in Berlin. Stories that Move will be presented at the UN headquarters in New York on 2 November 2018, at a conference to mark the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Kristallnacht 80 years ago.