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Extremes of Today

2019-3-FR02-KA105-0166972019Youth mobilityfinalizedGood practice
Countries: FR|RO|PL|IT|ES · Grant: €23,532
EU Citizenship, EU awareness and DemocracyEthics, religion and philosophy (incl. Inter-religious dialogue)

Objectives

We consider the problem of violent extremism as a very important one, and during the youth exchange "Extremes of Today», we raised the reflections among young people on the reasons of extremism, its consequences and prevention. This youth exchange, created by young people from AFSSC together with the partners, shed light on how far media and communications can help to counter violent extremism from groups, for example, such as the so-called Islamic State, etc. But also the problem of violent extremism includes such kind of inportant topics, as gender-based violence, hate speech, cyberbullism, domestic violence, and xenophobia. All of this topics were discussed during our exchange. This youth exchange was an attempt to counter violent extremism by creating several tools, whose aim is - raising awareness about the gender-based violence, hate speech, cyberbullism, domestic violence and xenophobia, and making participants understanding how important it is to talk and to educate young people about these problems. The youth exchange facilitated meetings of young people from different countries and environments, gave them a unique opportunity to get to know each other, discuss and compare different opinions, built an atmosphere of understanding and respect for other cultures, religions, and national differences, using various non-formal methods of education. The aim of this exchange was to provide a neutral arena for participants to explore the root that causes extremist violence and advocacy of hatred and possible measures and actions to address them from a Young Peacebuilder’s perspective. The project had two main objectives: 1. Reinforce the civil society framework against violent extremism and radicalization: To enhance effective counter extremism work within the local community where the project will take place; To promote effective activism and campaigning against extremis among the participating organizations. 2. Prevent and reduce extremist violence and hate speech through concrete measure: To strengthen the role of youth in countering violent extremism; To promote the role of gender dimension in countering violent extremism and hate speech among the participants. Having evaluated the project, we can tell that we managed successfully to achieve the above-mentioned objectives. The project served as a channel that facilitated the participation of young people in the process of creating a counter violent extremism and no hate speech agenda. This process included, but was not limited to, intercultural dialogues, inputs to reports and publications, distribution of the no hate speech and CVE campaign materials, advocate for human rights. For this reason, we included such workshops as “You(th) against gender-based violence”, “Cyberbullying: ctrl+ alt + delete”, “Bad news – be aware of dangerous media”, etc. The goals and objectives of the project were based on the general objectives and important features of the ERASMUS+ program. Among which we can distinguish the following: The development of mobility among young people in Europe; The provision of informal and non-formal education in the European context and the creation of innovative opportunities for active citizenship, especially for young people with fewer opportunities; The development of intercultural education in the field of youth; The promotion of fundamental European values among young people, in particular countering violent extremism, respect for human dignity, equality, respect for human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, including among young people with disabilities. The encourage of initiative, entrepreneurship and creativity among the participants.

Project partners (5)