Description of the project
The project aims to fight the radicalization among young people, a process that has to start as soon as in the primary and secondary schools. In order to deal with this issue, START THE CHANGE will organize a large-scale coordinated action that foresees the participation of 40 schools, 110 teachers, and 2000 youngsters across 4 European countries.
The project’s lighting principle for action is to make marginalized youngsters feel heard and cultivate diversity and democratic values in the social threads, bearing in mind the fact that radicalization often results from deprivation and identity crisis fuelled by negative personal experiences and wishes for revenge.
The project seeks to solve the problem by creating international cooperation among diversified social groups. The final objectives are to bring about changes in the way society handles diversity as a result of combined efforts in diverse fronts. Actions will consist of enhancing teachers’ intercultural capacities and civic competences in order to teach controversial topics, to equip CSO staff with peace-building ideas in their youth work, and to change the perception at grassroots level with local diversity projects realized by youngsters.
Activities
- Research on the most difficult and important intercultural topics with 40 focus groups and interviews.
- Development of training manual in 4 languages.
- Exchange of best practices in educational and integration methods.
- 36 Peace-building projects in local communities conducted by 2000 young volunteers.
- Capacity-building training session for 110 school teachers and volunteers in Diversity work.
- Organization of the creative contest “Paint the World with Diversity”.
Results
- Local research on the needs of youngsters in Palermo
- Comparative research on the needs of youngsters in Italy, Croatia, Slovenia and UK
- “Start the change Toolkit” consisting of:
- A manual for teachers on the theme of prevention of radicalization and other topics related to active citizenship. The English version
- A map with activities to do in the classroom. The English version
- The toolkit is available in all partner languages. For the other languages, please click here: https://startthechange.net/library/.
- “Book of Good ideas”: a book that collects the good examples from the local projects made by students from the partner countries promoting diversity, social inclusion and critical thinking.
- Creation of the Online Resource Centre in 4 languages.
- A documentary about the experience of teachers, students and project coordinators in this project.
- The organization of the creative contest “Paint the World with Diversity” in which students could express their ideas on social inclusion and diversity by using different forms of art.
- Policy Recommendations for future educational and social policies on diversity issues:
Partners
- Coordinator: FFE – Forum for Freedom in Education, Croatia
- Development Education Association, United Kingdom
- Centro Per Lo Sviluppo Creativo Danilo Dolci, Italy
- Youth Centre Dravinje, Slovenia