Description
The HUMAN professional development programme equips educators through a three-layer competence building approach:
- Intersectional understanding of power relations: focused on the development of competences to deconstruct systems of power and oppression that perpetuate structural racism and discrimination against diaspora communities.
- Activism for social change: focused on the development of competences to promote and support initiatives leading to social justice and human rights’ enhancement.
- Social responsibility: focused on the development of strategic partnerships and networking for sustainability.
The HUMAN programme is developing, implementing, and making available learning activities and tools for educators/youth workers on intersectionality, social media platforms, digital activism, strategies for fighting hate speech, and integrating youth activism in municipal action plans.
Through the development of educators/youth workers’ competences, HUMAN contributes to enhancing youth activism against racism and hate speech and young people’s competences to become Digital Hate Interrupter Activists. The programme supports digital social impact projects bringing together young people from diverse sociocultural backgrounds and communities.
HUMAN is framed by strategic quality assurance and impact assessment to ensure:
- Enhanced practices and approaches by stakeholders to support young people;
- Increased awareness and knowledge about manifestations and patterns of online hate speech;
- Increased youth participation and ‘voice’, through co-creation, in generating solutions to the phenomena as it affects them at the level of design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation;
- Increased capacity to connect stakeholders and young people in common, solution-building initiatives.
Beneficiaries
Young people from diaspora communities
Youth at risk: 14- to 21-year-olds, heavily exposed to social media and digital technologies with all its risks related to hate speech, discrimination and xenophobia.
Education level and sector
Adult learning
The HUMAN programme has been developed for implementation in formal, including vocational education and training (VET) and non-formal education contexts to be used by professionals working with youth.
Type of policy/initiative
Racial Equality Directive (Council Directive 2000/43/EC) Directive 2000/78/EC, Directive Proposal (COM(2008)462)
EU Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech On-Line
Victims’ Rights Directive
Race Equality Directive
Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law and EU Anti-racism action plan 2020-2025
Aims of policy/initiative
HUMAN aims to contribute to the eradication of hate against diaspora communities through a learning, practice-based programme that enhances multisector and intercommunity activism with a focus on the opportunities created by digital technologies. This programme is designed around three axes of action:
- The professional development of individuals whose role enables them to act and be agents of generational change in their communities. The project aims to contribute to the enhancement of professional capacity and competences to support digital activism against hate towards diaspora communities.
- Development of young people’s competences to become Digital Hate Interrupter Activists, supported by and cooperating in a framework of multisector agents. This includes promoting youth’s critical thinking on hate discourses against diaspora communities and the use of social media platforms, participation and digital competences. The project aims to contribute to change young people’s attitudes and behaviours towards diversity and enhance their activism against hate.
- Promoting sustainability via professional development, networking and communication actions towards the integration of Digital Hate Interrupter Activism in municipal action plans, local youth councils and strategic action plans. The project aims to contribute to integrating and sustaining digital youth activism at the local level through youth strategic action plans.
Features and types of activities implemented
1. Development of a Manual for Digital Hate Interrupter Activism (https://humanactivists.eu/) tackling hate discourses against diaspora, including analysis of gender constructions; social media uses, risks and opportunities; digital activism; youth participation and strategic action plans.
2. Mutual learning and knowledge exchange for promoters of social change.
3. Implementation of country tailored learning activities for digital hate interrupter activism.
4. Implementation of digital social impact projects bringing together youth from diverse sociocultural backgrounds and communities.
5. Supporting youth cooperation with local public entities, local authorities and civil society organisations.
Target group
The activities target the following groups:
a) with privileged access to decision-making (representatives of public entities and local authorities particularly connected to youth);
b) Educators (individuals whose professional role involves working with young people and communities in formal, non-formal, and informal settings);
c) Civil society organisations (particularly those promoting youth activism, victim support, and human rights).
Resources
HUMAN is co-financed by the CERV programme of the EU (ref. 1011444478-HUMAN-CERV-2023-EQUAL)
EU Co-finance: 635 260.00
Beneficiaries:
The Smile of the Child (EL)
Rinova (ES)
European Antibullying Network (BE)
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (PT)
DYPALL NETWORK: ASSOCIACAO PARA O
DESENVOLVIMENTO DA PARTICIPACAO CIDADA (PT)
ASSOCIAZIONE CULTURALE MULAB (IT)
Science & Research Centre Koper (SI)
Folkuniversitetet Uppsala (SE)
CENTER FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION (CY)
HUMAN has a wealth of experts ranging from the creative and cultural sector, social innovation, social justice, research and academia, child protection, VET.
Evaluation of the measure
HUMAN is being periodically peer reviewed and is the subject of both internal and external evaluations. A comprehensive analysis will be available at the end of two years of implementation of this project.
Evidence of effectiveness of the measure
The HUMAN programme is currently (March 2025) initiating its piloting phase.
Success factors
HUMAN has evolved from previous and ongoing work by partner organisations and proven success in applying youth-led cultural and creative practices in learning. Prior experience in applying participatory methodologies has proven highly impactful on young people’s interest to engage.
Examples of work from which HUMAN evolve include:
- CREUS
- Ycreate and its HUMAN PODCAST, which contents were developed by youth to inform and raise awareness on hate speech and discrimination https://open.spotify.com/show/1XJoIFGpEF1hqqmWnAA1Tb?si=db3227d11a8f402b
- HIT (Hate Interrupter Teams), which focused on developing youth’s citizenship competences by actively participating in the network of ‘Hate Interrupter Teams’ engaging in arts-based participatory activities and creative campaigning focused on human rights education, media literacy and communication. Over 300 young people have participated in the HIT activities (including training, collaborative workshops, awareness raising campaigns).
