DemocraCheck – Youth, Democracy and Resilience to Disinformation

We are looking for partners for an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange (KA152) focused on strengthening young people’s resilience to disinformation and hate speech, linking media and information literacy with civic participation and local democracy.
During DemocraCheck, young people is going to learn to verify information, discuss constructively, understand democratic decision-making, and design realistic local actions to respond to disinformation in their communities.
We'll discuss, through methods of non-formal learning, about disinformation & “fake news”; trust and polarization; democratic dialogue and participation; digital citizenship; ethics, privacy and online safety; inclusion and support for young people with fewer opportunities.
Planned activities: interactive workshops on fact-checking and bias; theatre/forum-based methods for dialogue and anti-hate; simulations of democratic decision-making (e.g., local council / citizens’ assembly); community mapping and meetings with local stakeholders; design of micro-actions; creation of “Civic Fact Cards” and a lightweight toolkit for replication; a public Civic Dialogue event.

Timing and place:
Preparatory Visit: in August
Youth Exchange: in September
Location: Catania, Sicily (Italy).
We will decide the specific dates with the partners.

Participants profile: 24–30 years old (plus group leaders). We aim for strong inclusion and diversity, with tailored support measures for participants with fewer opportunities (buddy system, clear language, safe space approach).
Expected results and impact: improved fact-checking and democratic dialogue skills; increased confidence to participate locally; 1 local follow-up action plan per country; civic resources (toolkit + fact cards) for schools/youth centres; at least 2 local replication activities per partner after the exchange.
We expect to recruit and prepare with our partners a motivated group of young people aged 24–30 (including fewer-opportunity participants), contribute to co-design, support dissemination and follow-up, and implement at least two local replication activities after the exchange.
If your organisation works on youth participation, media literacy, democracy education, community building, anti-hate, or digital citizenship, we’d love to connect.

To candidate, please send an email to cult.arci@gmail.com with your organization's PIF and, if your organization has, website and social media. Please use the subject line: “DemocraCheck | *Partner* Application”.