Study Session "Human Rights Education as a catalyst for boosting Democratic Participation of Young Refugees in Europe"

Aims & objectives

This study session aims to empower young refugees in combating populism and countering the dominant negative narratives, in order to play a part in constructing firmer democratic and inclusive European societies. It pursued the following objectives:

To reinforce the competences of young refugees to lead civic initiatives that
combat populism and promote democratic participation
To understand the root causes & consequences of rising populism that mainstreams hate speech аgаinst refugees and minorities, representing a major threat to democracy & human rights
To identify mechanisms populist movements rely on for gaining support, and have a grasp on approaches & practices of youth-led grass-root civic activism for countering populism
To practise building effective counter narratives that promote young refugees as valuable contributors to their societies; while looking into the interconnection links between ‘Othering’ & exclusion mechanisms/social fragmentation
To share lessons learned & best practices among the participants; mapping initiatives across Europe addressing xenophobia & populism, and to create space for networking and future collaboration

Target group & international/intercultural composition of the group & team

Participants:
There were 27 participants from Armenia, Albania, Azerbaijan , Berlgium, France, Georgia, Kosovo, Germany, Cypris, Romania, Turkey, United Kingdom, Ukraine with the following profile:
● young person with refugee background and/or
● young person with lived experience of forced displacement and/or
● youth worker/trainer working with groups above
● based in one of Council of Europe’s member-states
● age: 18 to 30 (with few possible exceptions)
● eager to learn and motivated to explore the topic of the study session and share gained competences (knowledge, skills and attitude) with their
communities/organisations
● able to use English independently in order to communicate effectively, ● available to fully participate in this study session in Strasbourg (12 - 18 November 2023, travel days included).

Team:
Name: Razan Damlakhi, VYRE Board member/trainer
- Name: Margarita Spasova, trainer
- Name: Katerina Stoyanova, trainer
- Name: Mikel Aguirre Herrero, trainer
- Maria Koutatzi (Educational Advisor)
- Kasya Urbanczyk (Job Shadowing)

Training methods used & main activities

The methods used were self-reflection, art, small group discussion, and trainers input, simulation games, presentations, silent exhivitions, collage, poster presentation, brainstorming etc.

Outcomes of the activity

The participants developed several ideas for follow-up activities and received feedback from their peers and the trainers
Stereotypes were broken for people whose countries are in an active conflict
Safe space to discuss and express opinions about current polarising issues
Increased understanding of human rights education approaches
Identifying & mapping challenges faced by refugees (problem-analysis: pointing out root causes and consequences)
Improved knowledge, confidence, and skills to tackle populism
Participants gained a better understanding of the characteristics of populist movements
Sharing resources, best practices & lessons learned (on interpersonal + community level, and on institutional level)
Increased hope, resilience, energy, and motivation to create positive change in this field.
Professional networking and personal connections. Plans for future collaborations. After this study session, the participants have a better chance for realisation of their role as multipliers. They explored EYF as a possible support to implement their action plans
The participants had a fruitful exchange with Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees – Mrs Leyla Kayacik, where they learned about the Council of Europe work in the field of migration and refugees, as well as raised their concerns and questions relevant to the topic at hand.

Information can be found in:
● On the website of CoE and the social media channels:
Human Rights Education as a Catalyst for Boosting Democratic Youth Participation of Young Refugees in Europe - Youth (coe.int)
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid023Z8oc4yUN9GTzuLoqRgweMP ZdEpiM6HeimqQYoqfC8U2yts3iut5Q5PoVm7AH13zl&id=100064637231611
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cx-qGUusJZs/?igshid=MzY1NDJmNzMyNQ==
● Ms. Leyla Kayacik's accounts:
Leyla Kayacik on X: "Inspired by today's discussion with @WeAreVYRE "Young Refugees as Agents of Change", organised by @CoE_Youth. @CoE to continue empowering young #Refugees to take part in �� #democracy , #HumanRights,
10
#culture, #diversity, #education & #integration. https://t.co/mYZhYDWyDM" / X (twitter.com)
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid023Z8oc4yUN9GTzuLoqRgweMP ZdEpiM6HeimqQYoqfC8U2yts3iut5Q5PoVm7AH13zl&id=100064637231611
https://padlet.com/7marketing2023_/human-rights-education-as-a-catalystfor boosting-democratic--m9yyc2oindhamacj

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

I was involved in the preparation, implementation(member of the team of trainers) and reportinbg of the activity.

I worked on this training for 9 days as a full time trainer.