A project of UNAOC in collaboration with the municipality of La Courneuve, France
UNAOC is committed to engaging with municipalities in the frontlines of challenges linked to intercultural and interreligious tensions that may erupt within diverse communities. Implemented in collaboration with the municipality of La Courneuve (Paris area, France), the project “News Generation Against Hate” empowers young people to combat misinformation, hate speech, and stereotypes by promoting multiculturalism and interreligious understanding in the media.
Only a ten-minute train ride from Paris, La Courneuve counts fewer than 45,000 residents of more than 80 nationalities, ethnic and religious backgrounds, about a third of them under 25 years old. It is a melting pot where youth from Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and more live together and interact daily.
With this new initiative in partnership with La Courneuve, UNAOC offers workshops and capacity-building training and activities to youth living in La Courneuve from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds and equips them with the tools to deconstruct stereotypes affecting their communities and causing tensions. News Generation Against Hate empowers local youth actors and provides them with the knowledge and tools to tackle the pressing social issues of our time.
Goal
The project News Generation Against Hate aims to engage forty youth from La Courneuve between the ages of 15 and 25 to help them deconstruct stereotypes rooted in the lack of knowledge of diverse cultures and religions. Through workshops and capacity-building activities, participants acquire storytelling techniques and competencies to promote multiculturalism and interreligious understanding. Moreover, through the production of media content such as videos and radio podcasts, participants learn to recognize and address misinformation and discrimination in the media. Together they produce alternative narratives and multimedia content covering local and national issues related to multiculturalism and interreligious understanding.
News Generation Against Hate participants after an intervention by French boxing champion and author Ms. Aya Cissoko.
Objectives
With the project News Generation Against Hate, UNAOC and La Courneuve provide a platform for youth participants to:
- Learn about the negative stereotypes affecting the diverse communities living together in La Courneuve and ways to deconstruct them to reduce tensions.
- Learn to recognize and address misinformation and discrimination in the media, particularly when rooted in the lack of knowledge of diverse religions and cultures.
- Acquire media literacy competencies and storytelling techniques to promote multiculturalism and interreligious understanding in the media.
- Develop skills for the independent production of media content such as videos, radio podcasts, and articles to create alternative narratives and foster interreligious and intercultural dialogue and understanding.
Programme Components
Phase 1: Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue Workshops
Participants engage in a series of workshops developed by UNAOC, La Courneuve, and expert facilitators to gain competencies on themes related to multiculturalism and interreligious understanding and ways to promote it within their communities. They also learn to identify misinformation and stereotypes related to cultures and religions in the media and ways to debunk them. Workshops include interventions by renowned professionals who specialize in these issues.
Phase 2: Media Literacy Workshops
Participants are introduced to different media platforms and formats, such as broadcast, radio, online and offline press, etc., to learn about the specificities of each medium, best practices, and different storytelling techniques. Workshops also involve interventions by renowned professionals who specialize in these issues.
Phase 3: Design and Production of Alternative Narratives
Participants choose a format for their project and work closely in groups of two to four to draft, design, and produce media content about local and/or national issues related to multiculturalism and interreligious understanding.
Phase 4: Best Practices and Final Event
Participants present their media productions and share their experiences and lessons learned during a public event organized in La Courneuve. They also engage in conversations with peers and community members about good practices to deconstruct stereotypes and promote multiculturalism and interreligious dialogue. Finally, they share recommendations with local representatives and municipalities on ways to educate younger generations about intercultural and interreligious understanding and engage them in promoting dialogue.
A team of local reporters follows participating youth throughout the project to produce a documentary about the programme.