Ahead

Fighting hate speech

Since 2022, Ipazia Production has been involved in managing all strategic communications for the AHEAD project (Against Hate Speech towards Roma Community, Migrants, Ethnic Minorities and Any Vulnerable Groups Discrimination), co-funded by the European Commission through the Erasmus+ program. This two-year project, which began on March 1, 2022, was launched on April 20 at an official event in Ploiesti (Romania) and will be implemented in Romania, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania. The project consortium consists of ARESEL (https://asociatia-aresel.ro/, as beneficiary), the University of Bari (Italy, as partner), BRAVO (https://bravo-bih.com/ – Bosnia), and Youth for Social Change (https://yscalbania.org/sq/home-albanian/ – Albania).

AHEAD aims to promote non-discrimination, inclusion, tolerance, mutual and multicultural understanding among young people and to combat racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance.

To disseminate these values, AHEAD uses an innovative approach that combines research, training (national and international) on anti-discrimination and hate speech, roundtables, seminars, exchanges of best practices, meetings between various representatives, stakeholders, CSOs, and youth associations, and a massive outreach campaign (managed by Ipazia).

One of the project’s main focuses is strengthening the capacity of young victims and young people from minority communities, supporting them in new mechanisms structured around public consultations in each partner country (replicable across Europe) on the topic of non-discrimination and combating all forms of hate speech against ethnic minorities, Roma, and migrants.

Objectives

AHEAD’s goal is to counter hate speech both in person and online and combat discrimination against minorities in five areas of civil rights: education, employment, housing, health, and goods and services. It will achieve this through specific training offered to 200 participants and using our innovative approach outlined above.

After providing expertise, developing skills, and supporting and raising awareness among young people, partners will support the mobilization of young victims and focus on capacity-building activities for young people, aiming to involve young people in decision-making and in new, structured, automated mechanisms to strengthen their active participation in hate speech and anti-discrimination issues.

Ahead

AHEAD will run 3 campaigns of 4 months each during the project period, online and in person

The role of these campaigns, which will be managed by Ipazia, will be to raise awareness and combat harmful stereotypes about Roma and migrants, thus supporting their integration into mainstream society.

AHEAD’s innovative approach will combine these awareness-raising campaigns with comparative research on both discrimination against young victims (part of minority groups) and hate speech (online and in person) through representatives of public institutions, NGOs, and activists working in the field of Roma and ethnic minority discrimination.

AHEAD also focuses on promoting non-discrimination by working on innovative approaches based on best practices and human rights-based narratives, and through training courses. Activists (two from each partner country) will be trained in the field of ethnic discrimination to build a network and potentially increase impact. Secondly, 150 participants will test and evaluate an innovative toolkit to understand the dynamics of hate and discrimination against Roma, and learn how to respond.