Youth and Community empowerment to counter discrimination and racism fomented by hate speech in (social) media and to promote active digital citizenship.
The right of freedom of expression is very important but it is not an absolute right. It is limited by the respect of the rights and reputation of others. Sadly, almost every day we can find very effective examples of online hate speech. This has developed a real “advocacy of hatred” - mainly based on ethnic and religious discrimination - that has become a serious threat to the future of Europe and the EU. It has been proved that, far from repression, the most efficient reaction to hate speech is that coming from the users of the social media platforms who shun unacceptable messages and publicly ridicule their authors. A positive response by the community and the civil society raises awareness and counteracts the voices of hatred. Just like the immune response in a healthy organism counteracts the virus that infected it.
This youth exchange will involve over 30 young people and youth leaders from 5 different partners plus a Youth Leader and it will tackle the issue of hate speech in the social media and the media at large, young people will explore how they can actively counter any kind of discrimination and racism fomented by hate speech by contributing their positive values to the debate. Furthermore, they will understand how to use digital media to motivate their local communities and lobby their politicians in joining the fight against the voices of hatred.
