One Step Beyond Erasmus Project

Project Title

One Step Beyond

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Home and justice affairs (human rights & rule of law); Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy)

Project Summary

Promoting democracy, teaching human rights and preventing extremism are of vital importance for a free society and a Europe of open borders. Although these topics should be considered from a national viewpoint, they cannot be adequately shaped using this perspective alone. A European-wide network of populist and right-wing extremists is becoming increasingly more professional as an international anti-multilateral movement. Right and extreme right-wing groups are infiltrating youth groups, communicating with these young people in their own language and genres, and using areas close to borders as places of refuge.
Hate speech and fake news are having a huge influence on public opinion – from online outlets to political decision making. Young people with low levels of education and participation as well as poor job prospects are particularly vulnerable to these populist campaigns. They are often not capable of using facts to form their own opinion. So far, there have been virtually no cross-border, multilateral youth education initiatives that deal with, and proactively counter, transregional forms of antidemocratic manifestations. Transnational, non-formal training courses aimed at young people with fewer opportunities are scarce and widely untested.
This project aims to alter the current status quo. It is therefore crucial that youth work providers and specialists in this area cooperate across borders and develop novel concepts and formats for non-formal education. These offers must be applicable to young people, both locally and at a transnational level.
The central idea is to found a transnational office called “respect!” where youth workers and young people can actively report any episodes to agitate or incite hate. They will receive feedback from qualified staff. “International democracy ambassadors against hate” will support this approach and offer training to young people in order to equip them with the skills necessary to fight this problem effectively and spread pro-democratic awareness within their peer groups.
Project partners:
The project involves partners from northern Italy, southern Germany, Alsace, Switzerland, and Belgium. Jugendstiftung Baden-Württemberg is responsible for coordinating the project.
Structure:
Each of the project partners will delegate two members to the steering committee, which will meet twice a year. This committee will set up working groups to develop this concept into actionable steps. Each working group will consist of two youth work specialists from each partner organisation. Switzerland and Infoklick are of considerable significance to this project due to Switzerland’s geographic and cultural proximity to southern Germany, northern Italy and Alsace, as well as the related anti-democratic and extremist networks already referred to. In addition, the project will be further underpinned by the particular quality of Infoklick’s youth education programmes and associated expertise.
Objectives:
1. A cross-border network of youth education specialists will be established to promote democracy, teach human rights and prevent extremism. A presentation of this concept will be accessible on the project homepage.
2. The concept and the technical implementation for a transnational office (“respect! – combating hate on the internet”) are already in place.
3. Transnational curricula to train young people to become “international democracy ambassadors against hate” and to provide youth workers with the necessary skills to disseminate this knowledge have been compiled. The first of those youth workers have already been trained to act as multipliers. This is a certified, modular, four- to five-day qualification in democracy. The non-formal youth work education programme is designed to empower young people, particularly those with fewer opportunities, to acquire the skills to take action against any manifestations of hate and incitement. The main focus of the training is on dealing with hate speech and fake news. All participants will be entitled to receive a YouthPass certificate which provides international recognition of non-formal and informal learning achievements.
4. The process of defining key terms and clarifying the legal framework has been concluded. The results will be presented in the form of a multilingual online glossary.

The project will use the existing youth work structures already present in the partner regions. Operational procedures will be regularly coordinated across practitioners from the partner regions. This allows the developed material, procedures and designs to be used immediately and provides a key foundation for future cross-border cooperation. The project objectives have already been recognised by the partners as both requirements and essential innovations in youth work.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 280481 Eur

Project Coordinator

Stiftung zur Förderung der Jugend in Baden-Württemberg & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Gesellschaft zur Förderung der grenzüberschreitenden Zusammenarbeit (GFGZ)
• infoklick.ch Kinder- und Jugendförderung
• Fédération Départementale des Maisons des Jeunes et de la Culture du Bas-Rhin
• Associazione Villa Vigoni
• Kaleido Ostbelgien
• Jugendagentur gGmbH