Before applying to the project we saw a need for a comprehensive national response to hate speech that needs to address the rights of the individuals both on and offline, including vulnerable groups which are most often targeted by hate speech, facilitate cohesion in society, and clarify the responsibilities and roles of the national authorities and other key stakeholders (local authorities, parliaments, Ombudsperson offices and other Equality bodies, Internet businesses, media, the education sector, NGO’s, etc). With our project, we wanted to find an alternative narrative for violence, in the shape of peace. Peace is often portrayed as static, calm and therefore way less appealing than violence. Such a tempting vision of violence may also be the reason for the engagement of young people in the radicalisation movement. When implementing the project we have had a belief that there is a need to create a space where working for respect of human rights and peace will become an attractive alternative. With this project, we wanted to design educational spaces for youth workers to gain competencies to raise awareness about hate speech in local communities in Europe and to empower them to take actions against hate speech locally by analysing local realities, exchanging practices and planning cooperation with local authorities. We equip young people with tools for preventing and addressing hate speech as a counterbalance to violent extremism. Young people need to have spaces for engagement in working towards more human rights-oriented societies. This project was a space where young people educated in the field of no-hate speech will bring sustainable peaceful change into their communities. As YPAN works in the field of peace education and youth empowerment we were looking for ways to be able to develop our skills as peacebuilders and youth workers and be more effective in our actions. We were able to use gained tools as a means towards change and social transformation and also to build an engaged network of people interested in working for social change. The aim of the project was to equip 30 youth workers with competences to raise awareness about hate speech in local communities in Europe and to empower them to take actions against hate speech locally by analyzing local realities, exchanging practices and planning cooperation with local authorities. The objectives were: - to improve the understanding of mechanisms of hate speech and ability to recognize it and address it; - To empower youth workers to become advocates and address hate speech and to build capacity in using Human Rights Education approaches and methodologies to prevent and address hate speech; - To explore the current realities, challenges and achievements in relation to addressing hate speech. - To learn about the practices and tools to address hate speech such as: media literacy, counter and alternative narratives, advocacy and conflict transformation. - To create space to design at least 8 local actions organised in cooperation with the local authorities and communities addressing hate speech; - to promote a multi-stakeholder engagement and to establish sustainable cooperation in combating hate speech among the participants and local decision-makers in their communities. The issues which we addressed were the growth of violent speeches and radicalization in our societies, the conscient identification of demonised groups and the irrational explanation of existing crisis on behalf of the designated as “the other”. The discrimination, violence and exclusion produced by these speech traps are present in the European localities and is the responsibility of their governments, stakeholders and institutions to deactivate it.