About
The Culture of Encounter project intends to create shared spaces for young people to further develop their knowledge, attitudes and skills and get acquainted with meaningful tools that can encourage them to actively engage with communities, to question and transform the narratives of hate speech and discrimination, thus contributing to the prevention of violence.
About
The Culture of Encounter project intends to create shared spaces for young people to further develop their knowledge, attitudes and skills and get acquainted with meaningful tools that can encourage them to actively engage with communities, to question and transform the narratives of hate speech and discrimination, thus contributing to the prevention of violence.
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted solidarity between people of diverse religious and cultural backgrounds; at the same time, it has also exacerbated tensions between migrant, refugee, and host communities in Europe. Hate speech, stigmatization, incitement to discrimination and xenophobia have increased during the pandemic, building on an existing culture of mistrust in societies.
Young people have a critical role to play in challenging fear-based narratives, attitudes and behaviors that advance antagonism. They can help promote and create a culture of encounter, dialogue, and collaboration in Europe.
A culture of encounter ultimately advances the promotion of human rights, the principles of democracy and the value of learning to live together in plural societies.
Objectives
The project seeks to empower and enable the youth to become “agents of transformation” in their communities. More specifically, it aims to:
1. Connect European nationals, and migrant and refugee youth living in Europe.
2. Enhance the participating youth’s awareness and experience of active citizenship.
3. Introduce intercultural and interfaith dialogue processes tools as a starting point to address problems of discrimination, hatred, and violence in their societies.
4. Empower the selected youth to become multipliers and develop initiatives in their schools and communities to foster inclusion, respect for diversity and pluralism.
5. Provide the youth with tools to create and document inspiring narratives and solutions to foster mutual understanding and solidarity.
6. Develop an awareness raising campaign led by the youth to showcase across Europe their interfaith and intercultural collective actions and initiatives.
7. Equip educators with pedagogical practices that can support the participating youth towards the creation of a culture of encounter in their schools and communities.
What do youth, schools and organizations gain from participating?
The project has multiple benefits for schools, organizations, communities, and the youth involved, including:
- Youth are empowered to address issues of discrimination, hatred, and violence through intercultural and interfaith dialogue
- Educators have greater capacities to foster a culture of encounter in their schools and communities
- Youth are connected with each other and gain experiences of active citizenship across Europe
- Youth become multipliers, leading initiatives to promote a culture of encounter
- Youth learn to use encompassing storytelling techniques
- Youth lead a social media movement to develop new narratives of encounter
Contact Us
Want to learn more about the Culture of Encounter or contribute to our mission? Contact us today!
"*" indicates required fields