Communicating diversity in the society and empowering proactive action in youth

Abstract

This paper presents an example of best practice in training young people for a world of diversity through joint social action. The Institute for Social Studies at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Sarajevo uses its activities to encourage young people to think critically and/or oppose the narratives of division, hate speech, gender and other inequalities. The paper strongly focuses on the Youth Academy on Constructive Narratives which aims to empower young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro to actively join the fight against harmful content (especially online) through the concept of media and information literacy, while also improving mutual understanding and trust. The empirical part of the paper examines the attitudes and experiences of young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro in terms of respect for diversity in the society. The research sample comprised the participants of the Youth Academy on Constructive Narratives (N = 70). Research results show that young people interact with the Others and the Different as part of their life and education, but nevertheless experience or witness discriminatory communication due to their identity and/or beliefs. These results confirm the importance of formal and informal action in promoting proactive youth action towards a diverse society.