Jan24

The project will build up on three most powerful social institutions, namely journalists/media personnel, teachers and youth. Several intervention strategies will be followed. First, it will involve identifying and engaging with the local journalists/media personnel through offering suitable orientation training programmes. They will act as change agents to influence and guide the targeted youth of colleges and madrassas of the project areas.  Second level of engagement will occur with the teachers of the same college and madrassas. They could be integrated into same training sessions.  Third, training will be provided to the youth of targeted colleges and madrassas, aged between 15 and 35, on family values, value of information in mobilizing society with particular reference to variety of media channels, such as radio, newspapers, schools magazines and participatory reflective research to generate insights on radicalization leading to violent extremism. Trained youths will form peer groups to conduct activities on citizens’ journalism at their college and madrassa campuses and in open media spaces to generate and share positive messages, which will eventually contribute to building a resilient environment in their respective educational institutions and locality. Whereas the journalists will train the youths on collecting, analysing information and developing small news stories on issues of interest and arrange to disseminate them, the teachers will guide them to form groups and monitor their activities. Fourth, project will create a structure for institutional sustainability through establishing “Youth Forum for Building Social Resilience.” They will be connected eventually into an internet based web page.