“Speak peace not hate” is a youth exchange program organized by the Erasmus + program
For ten days, participants from eight countries discussed an important topic: hate speech, its effects and its prevention in today’s world.
The youth exchange took place in Okhtyrka (eastern Ukraine) from 24 July to 1 August and brought together young people from 8 countries such as the United Kingdom, Armenia, Georgia, France, Lithuania, Ukraine, Turkey and Moldova.
Every day, they participated in training sessions on the theme of hate, its consequences and the importance of spreading the message of peace. One of the highlights of this exchange was held at one of Sumy’s shopping centers, where participants were conducting hate speech awareness activities.
One of the most entertaining parts of the event was the flash mob. The main idea of ​​the latter was to stop hate speech and spread love for those around you. By being close to the main action area, you could hear the slogan “No Hate” and participate in the performance by joining the chain of people.
“Free hugs” have also been proposed for the visitors of this shopping center. Also and throughout the event, posters containing messages against hate speech, discrimination and inequality were exposed.
Finally, an “association wall” (blackboard) was placed to allow visitors to write their personal definition of peace and to do so in a creative way.
This event was noticed not only by the people, but also by Sumy media and local television aired a report of this event available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NDH -ENMuSE & feature = youtu.be
An article about this event has also been written: https://tribuna.sumy.ua/news/prestavnyky-vismoh-krayin-provely-v-sumah-aktsiyu-govory-movoyu-myru-ni-nenavysti-foto/
The project was implemented by the Center for Euroinitiatives (Ukraine) in cooperation with the Center of Innovative Approaches (United Kingdom). It was funded with the support of the European Commission “Erasmus +: Youth in Action”, administered in the UK by the British Council.
