MCTAR

Ref: 602623-EPP-1-2018-1-TN-EPPKA2-CBY-SMED

Media and Critical Thinking Against Radicalization” (MCTAR) is a youth project coordinated by Euro- Med Eve (Tunisia) in partnership with EN.O Greece, youths support leader (Jordan) and Freeminds in Action (Italy). It aims to develop tools and resources to prevent radicalization and fight hate speech in media.

MCTAR is thought to be a project to develop further different methodologies and approaches in youth work as a way to prevent and identify radicalization processes amongst youngsters. On the other hand, we aim to foster youth understanding on current topics and foster their critical thinking as a way to become mindful citizens who are able to discern hate speech in and negative messages in media and online.

The project is divided in two main phases. The first one is devoted to provide youth workers with tools and resources in order to identify risk behaviors and patterns in youngsters that could lead to radicalization.

The second phase objective is to engage youth into critical thinking and debate over different topics spinning around the concept of intercultural dialogue and tolerance. On the other hand, youth will get the opportunity to get an insight into creative processes such as photography and videos making as an alternative way to express themselves and oppose to hate speech messages. By sharing these experiences with youth from different countries and cultural background, youngsters will get the chance to share diverse perspectives and learn from each other. In addition, they will engage into the production of several short films that will be presented at a local festival in Nabeul.

Throughout the project several intellectual outputs are to be produced, highlighting, an anti radicalization toolkit, a field research report on the four communities , OER’s related to the project content and training sessions, photography and videos made during the youth exchanges and several short films co-produced by the youngsters. All the learning outcomes will be available through our website under creative commons license for free use.

List of participating organisations

1. Euro- Med Eve (Tunisia

2. EN.O Greece,

3. youths support leader (Jordan)

4. Freeminds in Action (Italy)

ACTIVITY 1. Coordination Meeting (Capacity Building Activity)

Number of participants: 10 – youth workers, trainers and organizers.
Venue: Agregento - Italy.
Date: 05 -11 MARCH 2019

This first activity consisted in a coordination meeting between the Consortium members in order to assess the initial plan and agree on practical matters related to the project (logistics, financial management, change of dates, risks and mitigation measures…) as well as to review the quality plan and the activities to be implemented and its dissemination. In addition, the participants had the opportunity to visit the region and discover it.

Day 1: Presentation. Initial and diagnostic evaluation

Day 2: Field visit. Identifying weaknesses and strengths. Risk assessment

Day 3: Communication and dissemination plan. Review of stakeholders list and exploitation strategy.

Day 4: Action Plan. Revision of the arrangements and activities proposed and its feasibility according to current period.

Day 5:Visit in Agrigento and meeting with local authorities

This activity has gathered 2 participants from each organisation, and 04 from italian organisation, having 10 participants in total.

ACTIVITY 2. Seminar on Research and Context. Youth Workers Exchange)

Number of participants: 42 – youth workers, trainers and organizers.
Venue: (Nabeul, Tunisia) .
Date: : 22/06/2019 – 30/06/2019

Day 1: Presentation. Initial and diagnostic evaluation

Day 2: Field visit. Identifying weaknesses and strengths. Risk assessment

Day 3: Communication and dissemination plan. Review of stakeholders list and exploitation strategy.

Day 4: Action Plan. Revision of the arrangements and activities proposed and its feasibility according to current period.

Day 5:Visit in Agrigento and meeting with local authorities

This activity has gathered 2 participants from each organisation, and 04 from italian organisation, having 10 participants in total.

ACTIVITY 3.Workshop:“A practical approach on youth radicalisation for youth trainers”

Number of participants: 42 – youth workers, trainers and organizers.
Venue: (Nabeul, Tunisia) .
Date: 14/10/2019 – 22/10/2019

This mobility action we trained the youth workers on different tools that can be used to prevent radicalization amongst youth. Certified trainers conducted the different modules which followed formal and non-formal approaches, from standardized templates to customized actions in line with each specific context. Special attention has been given to the GROW model (Goals, Reality, Options, and Will).

This training provided the youth workers with the necessary knowledge to apply these new tools and approaches into their daily work. the youth workers used this newly acquired knowledge to develop online work with their peers by assessing the different tools and methodologies and developed their own project toolkit.

Day 1: Presentation of already existing tools/materials/resources on antiradicalisation. Literature review.

Day 2: Teamwork: Identification of youth needs. Mapping exercise. Free evening

Day 3:.Workshop 1: Building Identities. Supporting tools for helping young people to explore their identity. Free evening

Day 4: Workshop 2: The youth worker as a leader. How to build sustainable relationships and community with youth. Debate: How effective leadership can be to prevent radicalisation.

Day 5: Workshop 3:the GROW model (Goals, Reality, Options and Will). How to provide youth with alternative methods for problem solving.

Day 6: Workshop 4: Constructing alternatives to violent messages. How to engage youth in alternative and critical thinking. Identification of negative messages and how to build opposition.

Day 7: Teamwork: analysis of antiradicalisation tools and resources. Elaboration of the toolkit structure and qualitative approach. Definition of online work for the toolkit development

This activity has gathered 08 participants from each organisation,and 18 participants from tunisian organisation, having 42 participants in total

ACTIVITY 4. Youth Exchange:“ Developing New Narratives”

Number of participants: 42 – youth workers, trainers and organizers.
Venue: (Nabeul, Tunisia) .
Date: 14 -22 January 2020

This first youth exchange is thought to provide young people with the knowledge and skills to develop their critical thinking and empower them to create counter narratives in contraposition to hate speech and radicalisation behaviour. A series of peer -to peer workshops will be held where youngsters will be able to work with online tools and use visual language in order to create stories debunking prejudices and displaying new narratives. The aim is to enable the youngsters to identify negative a prejudicial messages on traditional media and online. Youth will learn how to do a research and support their ideas with facts, through tolerance and respect.

Day 1: Presentation and Initial Diagnosis. Ice-breaking games. Team building and ground rules. Brain Storming: identifying topics and negative stereotypes on media.

Day 2: Groups building. Discussion and definition of sub-topics to address for each group. Visit in Nabeul.

Day 3: Teamwork: research task of the chosen sub-topics. Gathering relevant material. Joint evaluation and critical analysis.

Day 4: The GAMMMA+ (Goal, Audience, Message, Messenger, Media, Action + evaluation and monitoring). How to raise awareness: methodology and tools.

Day 5: Workshop 1The power of visual language. Photography I. Teamwork: shooting

Day 6: Workshop 2 Reality vs manipulation. Photography II. Teamwork: editing. Intercultural evening.

Day 7: Presentation of the teamwork results. Activity Evaluation. Collection of feedback

ACTIVITY 5. Youth Exchange: “New Visions”

Number of participants: 42 – youth workers, trainers and organizers.
Venue: (Nabeul, Tunisia)
Date: 13 -19 August 2021

After the 2 youth exchanges take place there will be a dissemination and awareness event in Nabeul, including a short-movies festival. The youth will meet in Nabeul where they will have the opportunity to share their experiences with local peers and explain their work on the antiradicalisation topic and the use of audiovisual tools.

There will be a pre-festival day, opened to every local youth to develop an audiovisual creation in a maximum time of 6hours with the use of the smartphone. The short-films festival will display the creations the youth would have developed in each country after the last exchange. The first day all the short-films will be presented. The second day, there will be the opportunity to vote for the best creations, and complementary cultural activities will be held.

Day 1: Group presentation: internal evaluation of video creations. Group discussion.

Day2: Presentation of the project by participants in several local schools. Meeting with youth and exchange of experiences. Presentation in L'Institut Supérieur des Beaux Arts de Nabeul (ISBAN) and Benikhiar Youth Centre

Day 3: Pop-up creation day: the 6 hours challenge. Co participation of L'Institut Supérieur des Beaux Arts de Nabeul (ISBAN) and Benikhiar Youth Centre

Day 4: Festival Day 1: Presentation of the short movies and the documentary at the Neapolis cultural house of Nabeul . Post-discussion.

Day 5: Festival Day 2: Prizes ceremony. Cultural activities.

ACTIVITY 6. Follow-up meeting

Number of participants: 10 – youth workers, trainers and organizers.
Venue: (AMMAN, JORDAN)
Date: 20 -26 November 2021

Day 1: Diagnosis. Evaluation of the dissemination of the activities: how to achieve a high level of involvement from each country community after the end of the project.

Day 2: Technical round table with relevant institutions to show the level of support towards the project, youth involvement.

Day 3: Evaluation. Meeting with Civil Society and Youth Associations

Day 4: Design of Follow up Strategy. Meeting with relevant stakeholders to present the strategy and register their feedback

Day 5: Presentation of the project outcomes with government institutions.