As we posted recently, the ICT4Peace Foundation, with CIJA US in cooperation with BIRN and Talks 2.0 is conducting a series of interactive, hands-on workshops in the Balkans to support community leaders, civil society, independent media and technologists with online communication strategies to effectively respond to online dangerous content in their communities. With direct guidance and feedback, participants leave the workshops with practical ideas about how to carry their project ideas forward.
Sanjana Hattotuwa, Special Advisor at the Foundation, is one of the two lead trainers for these workshops. To date, they have been held in Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and Serbia. The last workshop will be held in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Foundation’s focus is on the development of responsive, context specific, targeted, issue driven and citizen centric communications campaigns, primarily over social media, around key socio-political, religious and cultural issues – ideas around which are sourced from the participants of the workshops in each country. The templates for meaningful, measurable and sustainable social media communications strategies, especially around pushback against violent extremism, Islamophobia, hate and dangerous speech comes from Hattotuwa’s experience in Sri Lanka and Myanmar in particular, as well as in other volatile contexts including Afghanistan.
In the workshops held thus far in four countries, the workshops have dealt extensively with the dynamics of countering violent extremism online in hyper-local, provincial, national and regional levels, embracing the complex dynamics of polity and society in the Balkan region. Many times, the challenges on the ground faced by those at the frontlines of social advocacy, activism and online-CVE work is markedly different from the emphasis placed on this work at the national level, or the framing of it at multi-lateral and bi-lateral levels.
Participants thus far have challenged the trainers with the following,
- Strengthening the ability for the Islamic community, including faith leaders, to pushback against the infiltration of public and online discourse by ideation and expression that is violent, incites violence or normalises it.
- Journalists who are fearful of reporting certain issues, and also now have to deal with fake or false news, speaking to challenges around information verification
- How to grab (and then keep) the attention of policymakers and politicians around key reform issues
- The tone of public discourse going from generally positive to an increasingly toxic pushback against progressive, independent or critical voices
- The rise of dangerous and hate speech, from right-wing extremism and xenophobia to religious intolerance, in public life as well as over social media
- Gender based violence and violence against women, and the need for public awareness campaigns around rights, safety and gender norms
- Media illiteracy, in a region where new and social media is growing at an exponential rate, leading to real fears around the more rapid spread of rumor, misinformation and disinformation campaigns, including targeted campaigns against individuals, institutions and political parties.
- Economic disempowerment and unemployment, in a context where the 18-34 demographic is the most active over social media, leading to the concern that they are at risk of radicalization in the guise of help and hope.
These vital grassroots, in-country workshops with key civil society participants, including in some locations members of local government, strengthen the Foundation’s commitment to the fostering of, inter alia, online social media that protects the freedom of expression and also minimizes to the greatest extent possible abuse, violence, hate and harm. This work also complements what the Foundation is doing with key partners, including the United Nations, around cybersecurity norms and guidelines.
A fuller report of the work in the Balkans will be published once the mission is completed. The Foundation’s Twitter account, @ICT4Peace, provides regular updates on the workshops.