Hate Fighters in Action project was supported by Erasmus + program, Capacity Building in the Field of Youth. Young people from 8 European countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Italy and Czech Republic) had opportunity to learn how to use creative methods (concept photography, concept video, graphics and rap music) and Karl Popper debate in combat against hate speech and for promotion of tolerance and democratic values. Activities organized within this project had aim to strengthen the role of young people in peace-building activities and combat against hate speech. Young people were educated though learning-by-doing on 2 training courses: they got basic education on the use of creative methods in youth work as well on the use of Karl Popper debate, where they were put in the position to prepare a case and debate between themselves. Participants of both trainings had opportunity to implement their new competences and skills through organization of local workshops and national Karl Popper debate competitions and campaigns. At the end of the project Hate Fighters Network organized final event which gathered representatives of partner organizations and 8 teams which won on National Karl Popper debate competitions. Participants of this event had opportunity to hear about achieved results of the project and to enjoy international competition of Karl Popper debates. Set of activities for young people in Program and Partner countries were organized with the aim to strengthen the role of young people in peace-building activities and combat against hate speech. The project did not only support the promotion of human rights and democratic values, but also built capacities of young people (young activists, students of law, volunteers) to advocate for human rights and reconciliation. Hate Fighters Network wanted to increase the skills and knowledge of the youth workers of the partner organizations at two levels: using creative methods in youth work and using Karl Popper debate as a tool in the work with young people. Youth workers from 8 countries were educated through learning-by-doing through 2 training courses: they get the basic education on the use of creative methods in youth work as well on the use of Karl Popper debate, where they were in the position to prepare a case and debate themselves. Participants of both trainings had the opportunity to test their new educational competences through local activities such as workshops, National Karl Popper debate competitions, and Hate Fighters Network campaign which were inseparable part of this project. In this way not only youth workers got new skills, but partner organizations built their capacities and gained a new form of youth work. Main aim of the project was to strengthen the role of young people in peace-building activities and combat against hate speech, and specific objectives were to contribute to development of capacities of youth workers and young people in the combat against hate speech, to develop coherent approach to the problem of hate speech online issues through Hate Fighters program at the European level and to foster cooperation of partner organizations with state institutions, local authorities, educational institutions, non-governmental organizations and many other key stakeholders working in the field of peace-building. Partners on this project were organizations from 8 European countries: Youth center “Perspektiva” from Durres, Albania, “Red Cross Novo Sarajevo” from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, “International Development Alliance Network” from Sofia, Bulgaria, “Art Republic Prague” from Prague, Czech Republic, “Hellenic Youth Participation” from Athens, Greece, “Beyond Borders” from Corato, Italy, “Council for prevention of juvenile delinquency” from Kavadarci, North Macedonia, “Hate Fighters Network”, Club for Youth Empowerment 018 (KOM 018) and Faculty of Law, Nis - Serbia

As media increasingly mediate everything in society, there is a growing emphasis on ensuring that people, and particularly young men and women have media literacy not only to engage with media, but furthermost, to engage with society through media.Young people are “digital natives”, yet they often lack basic awareness and skills that would enable them to be responsible “digital citizens”. Poor socio-economic situation and a lack of perspectives for youth, intertwined with a lack of exposure to cultural diversity create a fruitful environment for the spread of populist messages fueling intolerance. On the other hand, particularly in the Balkans, spreading of fake news gained an economic dimension. In the region, where the overwhelming majority of youth are unemployed yet skilled, many joined the “fake news industry” in pursue of easy money.In line with the goals of the Erasmus+ KA 2 Capacity-Building in the Field of Youth program, “Youth Media Literacy Lab” project will focus on increasing the capacity of young people to critically assess, analyze and interpret media, thus strengthening their resilience to identify and withstand fake news, populist agenda and hate speech. The project will be organized over the period of 7 September 2020 – 7 September 2021, and will target youth workers and young people in the age of 15-29, from Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Lithuania, Italy and Croatia.Through a broad range of interconncted activities, including a desk research, a Training of Trainers, local workshops, a youth exchange, an awareness campaign, preparation of a youth-friendly toolkit, youth-led follow-up activities, a closing conference and a launch of an Alumni Network of Peer Multipliers, the project aims to achieve the following:Strengthen media literacy skills of young people and equip them with specific knowledge and tools how to identify, deconstruct and prevent fake news, populistic messaging and hate speech,Prepare a new cohort of peer educators on media literacy and critical thinking, which will be further supported by the Partnership,Consolidate existing good practices and media literacy tools across the Partnership into a project toolkit, which will be available online to a broader audience,Empower young people to act as agents of positive change in their communities,Strengthen and enhance the network of CSOs working on digital media literacy.In the long-term, the project will foster youth active participation in democratic life by promoting the values of “digital citizenship” and human rights-oriented online behaviour. Furthermore, the project supports young people in becoming agents of positive change and lasting peace through a focus on youth-led peer-to-peer activities and intercultural dialogue. These outcomes will be particularly important for participants from the Balkans, where post-conflict narratives still dominate public discourse, and positive narratives of youth inter-ethnic cooperation remain rare.

"Club for Youth Empowerment 018 (KOM 018), Serbia would like to apply to Erasmus + program, for the CBY project ""Safebook for safe youth"" in cooperation with Beyond Borders – Italy, Idea for Life – Poland, Youth Center “Perspektiva” – Albania, Red Cross Novo Sarajevo – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jordan Youth Innovation Forum – Jordan and Euro-Med EVE in Tunisia for the period of 24 months. The project idea is focused on the safety of young people, especially affected by COVID-19 pandemic. “Safebook for safe youth” project aims at promotion of safety culture among young people through newly developed manual “Safebook” for youth work in the field of youth safety (http://kom018.org.rs/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ENG-Safebook-Manual.pdf) . The manual was produced through Strategic partnership in the field of youth in 2021 by the applicant Club for Youth Empowerment 018 (KOM 018) together with Beyond Borders – Italy, and partners from Croatia and North Macedonia and is recognized as a good practice project by Serbian National Agency, Tempus Foundation. “Safebook” manual includes new and innovative methodologies and creative tools in the form of youth friendly manual for youth workers. Newly developed manual focuses on 5 segments of youth safety: peer violence, cyber bullying, abuse of psychoactive substances, discrimination, and mental health in time of COVID–19. Project Aim: To motivate youth workers and young people to take more active role in promotion of safety culture"