As we recently delved into the second half of this 16-month KA2 project, we are pleased to present more in detail the aims and objectives of the project BE SMART, BE TOLERANT! to which we have collaborated as partners for the last months. The BEST project is coordinated by ASOCIATIA SMART EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS from Romania in collaboration with European Network for Training and Skills from Spain, DOREA EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE WTF from Cyprus and ELA. 

The reasons that led to the implementation of this project start from the fact that around 85% of Europeans see fake news as a problem for their country. Moreover, 83% of Europeans see fake news as a problem for democracy as well since false claims can trigger political changes, create biased opinions based on uninformed sources and therefore confusion and tensions in society. These sorts of messages tend to use people’s prejudices as weapons and usually tackle sensitive issues such as religion, racial and ethnic topics or more in general subjects that resort to emotions and fear to seem credible. Young people are especially exposed to fake news since they spend a great amount of time on the Internet and on social media.

The aim of the BEST project is therefore to offer an innovative training tool that can improve young people’s critical thinking skills and their motivation to become active citizens and fight fake news as a common European value. This goal can be achieved by working on improving the competencies of youth workers in recognizing and fighting fake news. For this reason the BEST project envisioned two Learning Activities that have been attended by 3 people from each partner country. The first Learning Activity was held in Limassol, Cyprus in July, hosted by DOREA, and the second in Bologna between October and November, hosted by ELA. Moreover, a Guide has been created by all partner countries, each chapter tackling a different subject such as Active Citizenship in the Digital Age (DOREA), Disinformation by Distorting in the Age of Big Data and Social Networks (SEP), Gamification and Non Formal Methods for Youth Work (ELA) and finally 4 animated videos created by our Spanish partners on the above mentioned topics. 

The project’s intellectual output will therefore be the BEST kit, consisting in the Guide and the 4 animated videos. The kit will be used for developing the competencies of young people and youth workers to be more conscious about the possible consequences of the phenomenon of fake news in our lives and to learn to stop its spreading. 

The next steps of this project will involve 60 young people with fewer opportunities (15 per partner country) and 40 youth workers (10 per partner organization) that will be selected for taking part in 3 workshops where the Guide and animated videos will be tested. The results of the project will then be disseminated within 4 multiplier events.

We are thrilled to be part of this project and we look forward to the implementation of the next steps so stay tuned for more information on how to stop the spreading of fake news!