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EU CoFunded Project 'HATE-LESS' Enters Second Phase: Empowering Youth to Counter Hate Speech through Participatory Media
Moving from research to large-scale action, the project now focuses on the creation of youth-led participatory videos and a European-wide advocacy campaign. This transition marks the beginning of a large-scale pilot training scheme designed to reach over 60 youth workers and 120 young participants across Germany, Estonia, France, Spain, and Cyprus.
Coordinated by European Youth4Media Network e.V. (Germany), the project was launched to address the growing challenges of online hate speech and disinformation.
“The HATE-LESS project is developing powerful tools not only for youth workers across Europe, but also for defending democracy in EU countries and Eastern Europe.”
- Wolfgang Ressmann, European Youth4Media Network e.V. https://youth4media.eu/
After a foundational period dedicated to needs assessment and the creation of methodological guidelines (Methodological Guidelines for Participatory Actions - https://hate-less.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/The-Methodological-Guidelines-for-Participatory-Actions-HateLess-Project.pdf ), the consortium has reached a major milestone: the official publication of the HATE-LESS toolkit for youth workers and trainers.
“Hate speech begins where dignity is forgotten. Through HATE-LESS, we are showing an alternative path to young people on how to recognize disinformation, and we are inviting them to become guardians of truth, dialogue, and democracy. Europe’s future will not be protected by silence, but by a generation brave enough to speak with wisdom, create with responsibility, and stand for the humanity of others.”
— Dr. Nektar Baziotis, Evolutionary Archetypes Consulting SL - https://ea.consulting/
From Planning to Action: The HATE-LESS Toolkit Now Available
The first half of the project successfully produced a comprehensive Methodological Guideline for Participatory Actions and a HATE-LESS toolkit for youth workers and trainers focused on participatory action research and video production. These materials, validated during intensive transnational training sessions in Tallinn and refined after a feedback period by all partners, are now available on the project’s official results page.
“As the lead partner of WP2, I would like to thank all partners for their valuable contributions in developing engaging and practical content for the Methodological Guidelines and the project Toolkit. I also appreciate their active participation in the testing activities, training and transnational project meeting hosted by our organization in Tallinn.”
- Ruta Pels, President of EESTI PEOPLE TO PEOPLE NGO https://www.ptpest.ee/
The toolkit offers interactive exercises designed to help educators and youth workers translate complex media literacy issues into engaging, hands-on learning experiences.
“The design process of the toolkit for the MITRA FRANCE team presented both challenges and opportunities, enabling the creation of diverse visual elements, including multilayered collages, AI-generated illustrations, and tailored imagery.”
- Paul Smulski, MITRA FRANCE https://www.facebook.com/mitrafr/
The implementation phase utilizes a 25-hour active, participatory training scheme structured as a 'cascade' model. The 18 youth workers who completed the transnational training will now train 120 additional professionals per partner country, ensuring the methodology (focused on deconstructing disinformation and hate speech) is standardized across the consortium.
The Road Ahead: Participatory Videos and Youth Manifesto
As HATE-LESS enters its second phase, the focus shifts to the practical application of these tools. Across the partner countries, young people are taking the lead as storytellers to produce Participatory Videos. These creative works will reflect youth perspectives on digital well-being, migration narratives, and the hope for a more inclusive digital future.
"Our work on HATE-LESS in Cyprus reflects what Waves Foundation for Global Education stands for: equipping young people with the critical thinking and creative tools they need to push back against hate speech, disinformation, and racism. And to tell their own stories of the communities they live in."
- Dora Heracleous, WAVES FOUNDATION FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION https://www.wavesfoundation.org/
A minimum of 15 participatory videos will be produced, supported by laboratories involving at least 240 youngsters per country. This process utilizes participatory monitoring tools outlined in the HATE-LESS Repository of Participatory Impact Monitoring Tools report, such as 'Stories of Most Significant Change' and 'Before and After Maps,' to qualitatively measure the improvement in how participants manage and analyze digital information.
These creative results will fuel an upcoming Advocacy Campaign and the drafting of a Youth Manifesto. This initiative aims to push for the continuous improvement of media literacy in youth work at a policy level, ensuring that the project's impact reaches local, national, and European authorities.
By combining these creative outputs with a robust dissemination strategy, the project’s goal was to reach over 700 individuals, and to date, it has reached 3,543 people on the website alone, including municipal authorities, civil society organizations, and local stakeholders, to ensure the sustainability of these media literacy strategies.
A Strong European Partnership
This initiative continues to be driven by a diverse consortium of expert organizations dedicated to social cohesion and digital literacy:
Germany: EUROPEAN YOUTH4MEDIA NETWORK EV. (Project Coordinator)
Estonia: EESTI PEOPLE TO PEOPLE
France: MITRA FRANCE
Spain: Evolutionary Archetypes Consulting SL
Cyprus: WAVES FOUNDATION FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION
By building a community of informed and responsible media users, HATE-LESS is creating a lasting impact on the way young Europeans consume and create digital content.
About HATE-LESS:
HATE-LESS is an Erasmus+ project co-funded by the German National Agency, JUGEND für Europa. It seeks to empower youth workers and young people with the tools to identify and counter hate speech and disinformation, promoting fundamental European values of mutual respect and intercultural dialogue.
Email: info@hate-less.eu
For more information, visit: https://hate-less.eu/
Project: 2024-1-DE04-KA220-YOU-000244181
Disclaimer: Co-financed by the European Union. The opinions and points of view expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or of the JUGEND für Europa (German National Agency for Erasmus+ Youth, Erasmus+ Sport and the European Solidarity Corps).
Katharina Haberl
EA Consulting
+34 93 309 7909
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