Initiatives Against Cyberbullying and Hate in Social Media Erasmus Project

Project Title

Initiatives Against Cyberbullying and Hate in Social Media

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; Gender equality / equal opportunities; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

All technology produces both good results but also has questionable consequences. The internet is a perfect case study for this statement. While better connecting the world and democratizing information, the internet has also allowed individuals to hide behind masks of anonymity. The “faceless evil” of the internet is a growing threat for teens, specifically when it comes cyberbullying.
The latest UN research data reveals that almost half of the students in schools suffer violence. 46% of children in the age group between 11 and 15 reveal that they suffer from violence and intimidation by peers. The daily experience of many schools and youth counselling centres shows that the issue is critical and one can observe growing interest in programmes and lessons for the prevention of violence or bullying.

However, not only young people, but also teachers, trainers and youth workers need therefore new skills and competences to be better prepared to deal with this phenomenon. However, many of them have had their vocational education years ago and are unprepared to the changes in the way in which our internet society is organized and which understandings, necessary knowledge and skills for the prevention of cyberbullying. Moreover, although a whole range of projects, initiatives and materials exist in English, access is hampered due to confused locations and missing translations.

The strategic partnership “Initiatives against Cyberbullying and Hate in Social Media” aims at identifying and collecting effective strategies and practices to address cyberbullying and to provide an effective and integrated approach to prevention.

The general objective is to provide relevant information about initiatives, materials and best practice solutions which
• raise awareness about cyberbullying among young people and among their educators
• support them to react against online discrimination, hostility and violence
• build skills at children and juveniles how they can protect themselves against bullying and victimization
• reduce racism and xenophobia among young people
• encourage and add value to school anti–bullying strategies by incorporating “user” led action research to define current need and resolution

In order to reach this objective, the specific objectives are
1)
To implement an e-platform with an interactive database that gives access to initiatives and materials that have been identified and collected in the course of the project, especially concerning successful initiatives, best practice examples and tools which are the most suitable preventive measures against cyberbullying and how to respond to incidents

2)
To elaborate a Catalogue “Initiatives Against Cyberbullying and Hate in Social Media” which will give an overview about the current situation of the specific project environment in the partners’ countries. The Catalogue will be enriched with the outcomes of the four meetings in each partner country where experts from the respective national and local youth organisations discussed good practice from their countries and abroad.

3)
To organise an online interactive Forum for exchange of experience and good practice that will promote networking and exchange activities not only among the partnership and youth organisations in their countries, but also on a European level, in order to facilitate the exchange between educators, teachers, trainers and youth workers who are confronted with this phenomenon and who will be able to obtain peer support and helpful advice.

4)
One of the core activities in our strategic partnership will be the four transnational meetings. The focus will be on meeting with youth workers in the respective country, i.e. in Cyprus, Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia. In these events, the project’s objectives will be presented, as well as the actual state of the identification and selection of best practice examples and the concept of the database.

Our project will provide youth workers and educators with information and best practice about effective tools and methods, in order to help them do their work better. They will be able to acquire skills and knowledge to apply interventions in a preventive stage, and to focus on self-esteem, empathy towards out-groups and on managing negative emotions. In the long run, this approach will reduce the dangers of victimisation combat the spread of online harassment.

The partnership comprises a multidisciplinary, proven and successful team of four partners from Cyprus, Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia who have already collaborated in youth themes in various LLP and Erasmus+ projects.

During the implementation of the project, we will regularly upload news about the project’s progress in EPALE. We will also present the outcomes of the project, especially the interactive database of best practices, initiatives and projects dealing with methods to prevent cyberbullying , at the European Youth Portal.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 46963,92 Eur

Project Coordinator

CSI CENTER FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION LTD & Country: CY

Project Partners

• INTEGRA INSTITUT INSTITUT ZA RAZVOJ CLOVEKOVIH POTENCIALOV VELENJE
• QUALED obcianske zdruzenie pre kvalifikáciu a vzdelávanje
• E-C-C VEREIN FUR INTERDISZIPLINARE BILDUNG UND BERATUNG EDUCATION-CULTURE-CITZENSHIP