1000Layers: Youth for creative identities

Background Evidence suggests that young people belonging to specific minority groups are particularly vulnerable, facing discrimination on the ground of their young age as well as other personal characteristic, such as sexual orientation, gender identity or ethnicity, among others. For those from particularly vulnerable groups such as LGBT Youths and young people from racial or ethnic minorities, their difficulties begin from the earliest of ages, within schools and universities and continue into employment. Experiences of discrimination and social exclusion have a life-time impact, and can have terrible consequences over conformation of identity during adolescence and early Youth, settling the ground floor for young people to turn to violent radicalisation, through perceived identity threats, feelings of injustice and media influence. Youth work has been recognized as a particular fertile space for prevention of violence, radicalisation and marginalization among Youth, by facilitating the development of soft skills and resilience to help young people cope and overcome difficult life situations. The 1000Layers project provides resources to address these needs by navigating complex identity issues within Youth work. Objectives The objectives of the 1000LAYERS project are to: 1) Promote, through the Creative Identities Method (CIM), the ownership of shared values, equality, social inclusion, diversity and non-discrimination among youth, tackling segregation and racism. 2) Engage, connect and empower young people using the CIM in order to: enhance critical thinking and media literacy among young people to counter manipulation, propaganda and misinformation; promote intercultural dialogue and promote knowledge and acceptance of diversity and tolerance in society; fight against radicalization and violence among youth by providing alternatives to identity constructions based on single-story and victimhood narratives. 3) Contribute to quality and innovation in youth work by: creating participant-centred tools for youth workers based on the CIM to fight against single-story and victimhood narratives within youth contexts; supporting youth workers in developing and sharing effective methods to work with identity related complexities and conflicts in order to reach out to marginalised young people, prevent racism and intolerance among youth, and address the risks, opportunities, and implications of digitalisation in the construction of youth identities. Implementation During the 1000LAYERS project we implemented the following activities: - Continuous management, assessment and dissemination of project progress, quality and impact, including an online kick-off, 2 transnational partner meetings and monthly follow-up online meetings. - Development of the Creative Identities Method (CIM) - Development of 2 tangible outputs (an identity card game with an accompanying handbook, and a handbook for Youth Workers on how to use the CIM method) to address identity-based issues through CIM, promote social inclusion and critical thinking among young people, support youth workers in tackling racism and intolerance, and serve as generic prevention of radicalisation leading to violence - An 18 hour online joint staff training to exchange methodologies among partner organizations and transfer knowledge among the different territories - 8 local pilots to co-construct project outputs - 4 local multipliers for Youth workers, a blended youth mobility composed of three online debates a 5 days of face-to-face training in Barcelona, followed by an international final conference to assure project exploitation and sustainability, and multiply project impact in the Youth field and beyond. Achievements The 1000LAYERS project produced the following results: • Social inclusion has been promoted in the four partner territories; over 100 young people have been directly engaged, connected and empowered; over 100 youth workers have been supported through quality resources and training • Generic prevention resources have been created (an identity card game and handbook, and a handbook for Youth Workers on how to use the CIM method) and are available freely through different portals (project website, Erasmus+ Results Platform, SALTO-Youth portal) in EN, ES, FR, TR, GR and NL. • Over 400 participants have been directly engaged/sensitivized in identity exploration within project activities; over 300 people have been directly engaged outside project activities. • Partner staff have been trained to replicate 1000Layers outputs beyond the duration of the project. • 65 organizations have been introduced to the Creative Identities Method and project outputs • Over 200,000 people have been reached online through dissemination activities on partner social media. • 12 videos were produced, including a Youth manifesto, videos showcasing the pilots and final conference, and video testimonials. • Management, dissemination and evaluation reports.