Young people in Serbia do not have a developed awareness of the importance of cultural diversity, which is a consequence of the lack of interculturalism in the media, underdeveloped youth activism in the areas of democracy, rule of law and human rights and lack of intercultural education in formal curricula. Over 40% of young people in Serbia believe that being Serbs fully describes their identity, while one fifth of young people believe that the loss of national identity would be inevitable if Serbia becomes a member of the EU. The data show that young people do not understand and do not know enough about what interculturality represents, as well as that they do not know the values ​​of the European Union. Young people are primarily informed through online media channels (social networks and other online platforms) and online media have a great influence on the formation of attitudes. On the other hand, civil society seeks to influence the development of young people’s attitudes and the acceptance of democratic values ​​by encouraging youth activism. It is the project “I Deserve to Know – Multiculturalism to a Stronger Democracy” that creates space for thorough, timely and effective informing of young people about the importance of developing the value of multiculturalism in society, as well as intercultural exchange practices in multicultural communities and resources for youth CSOs for the development of an innovative methodology in working and teaching young people about the concept of cultural diversity throughout Serbia. Such efforts in the long run contribute to raising awareness of young people about the importance of developing democratic values ​​and practices in the community, for the overall development of society in Serbia.

General objective of the project: Contribution to the development of democratic values ​​and practices based on the activism of high school students and independent media reporting;

Specific objectives:

  1. To improve the capacity of up to 30 CSOs in order for them to work with high school students in the field of interculturalism and cultural diversity;
  2. To improve the quality of information of high school students about the importance of interculturalism for the democratic development of the community in online media.

The results:

  1. Youth CSOs identified with good practices of working with up to 30 CSOs regarding the subject of raising awareness of high school students in the field of interculturalism;
  2. Improved work of up to 30 CSOs with young people in the field of interculturalism through the inclusion of social games among the tools for working with young people in the field of interculturalism;
  3. Raised level of information and education of young people (high school students) on the importance of promoting interculturalism and cultural diversity online.

Target groups: Youth (high school students), youth CSOs and online media.

Duration: 1.10.2021. – 31.03.2022.