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S.O.C.I.A.L SPEECH

2024-1-IT03-KA152-YOU-0002065452024Mobility of young peoplefinalized
Countries: IT|RS|MK|PT · Grant: €23,811
Awareness about the European UnionHuman rights and rule of lawDigital skills and competences

Objectives

The project aimed to align with Europe's active commitment to build an inclusive and diversity-based society by promoting cooperation between member countries, exchange of culture, human rights, and democratic values, to counter the spread of populism and xenophobia and raise awareness against all forms of prejudice and discrimination. Actions in this direction are even more necessary in light of recent migration issues, the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing wars, which have contributed to widening distances and deepening differences. In this context, the ongoing and constant commitment of civil society and citizens themselves must be geared toward fostering closeness, understanding, and recognition of others, in order to activate processes of personal and collective enrichment that support European identity. SOCIAL SPEECH sought to address these issues by guiding young participants on a journey of self-awareness and re-acknowledgement of themselves and others. This journey leveraged the tools and dynamics young people experience to raise awareness of the importance of setting aside the notion of others as someone to be rejected, ignored, or defended against. SOCIAL SPEECH aimed to promote non-discrimination, inclusion, tolerance, mutual and multicultural understanding among young people, and to combat racism, xenophobia, and other forms of intolerance. To do so, the project employed an innovative approach that combined non-formal education with research and social analysis to explore issues such as discrimination, hate speech (particularly online hate speech), inclusive language, populism, and fake news. The project's activities aimed to provide young people with cognitive tools to recognize the origins and effects of exclusionary dynamics, in terms of emotional fragility, low self-esteem, and psychological problems. Specifically, our organization's youth workers, supported by their partners, conducted research, analysis, and reflection workshops on: - stereotypes and prejudices in various countries that fuel distorted populist dynamics; - the short-, medium-, and long-term effects of hate speech, both online and offline, on individuals and communities, along with tools to recognize it and learn how to defend themselves; - use and perception of common goods in their communities; - information and data collection strategies to recognize phenomena such as information manipulation, propaganda, and fake news; - analysis of political discourse to recognize populism; - human rights and their application in everyday life. The research activities were complemented by brainstorming sessions, discussions, and social fieldwork using various data collection tools (interviews, reports, and artistic expression). This work, conducted at an intercultural level, aimed to consolidate an inclusive European identity among young people, oriented not only toward reflection but also toward action. SOCIAL SPEECH enabled the young people to conceive and produce (writing and recording) a podcast. This work helped them not only hone their interpersonal and social skills but also those more closely related to entrepreneurship.

Project partners (4)