31/07-08/08/2016 - "From new challenges to innovative contributions: using online tools to promote exchange and understanding training course" (Netherlands)

Jongeren voor Uitwisseling en Begrip (JUB) is looking for participants for a training course called “From new challenges to innovative contributions: using online tools to promote exchange and understanding”. The main goal is to empower youth workers with essential competences to promote exchange and understanding, using online methods.

In our European societies there are all kinds of minorities, which are not always treated equally. Distinctions are made because of skin color, ethnic background, sexuality or religion. The current refugee / migrant crisis in Europe adds another dimension. Many people fear the arrival of newcomers. People get treated in a certain different way, without thinking. Usually it is based on stereotypes and prejudices. There is a clear lack of knowledge and interaction between different people, who just move around in their own ‘circles’. With this training course the participants will promote an exchange of personal stories, to overcome prejudices.

During the training, the attending youth workers will first learn what the root causes of prejudices are in our societies and analyze the situation in different countries. The next phase is about exploring and mastering online tools to promote an exchange of information between different people. One particular example will be given: publishing articles and matching photographs at ‘Humans of …’ pages on Facebook and Instagram.

The idea originates from the hugely successful ‘Human of New York’ page, which has gathered over 16 million likes on Facebook by now. It presents street portraits and interviews, collected on the streets of New York. With the initiative, the subscribers of the page can read short stories of people they would perhaps normally never speak to. It offers a unique insight into the lives of others, broadening your own viewpoint. The power of social media is that it can reach a lot of people quickly, and it offers an easy space for interaction afterwards as well. Moreover, as most young people are active on social networks, it is good way to reach them.

In this training course the youth workers will learn the basics of publishing such articles, including interviewing people, writing the story and shooting matching photographs on the street. The focus would be on subjects with a particular minority background, with a certain interest to tell their story. By the end of the training, every participating city should have a page. In case a page of a city already exists, we count on that the forces can be joined. In the weeks after the training, the youth workers should transfer the skills to the youngsters in their organizations, creating more impact and ensuring a sustainable flow of articles on the pages.

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