Our project aims to empower youth to explore, understand, and share historical narratives in innovative and meaningful ways. Through a programme of ten events over 20 months, we will bring together at least 800 participants to uncover and highlight lesser-known histories, including Holocaust-related narratives affecting LGBTQ+ individuals, persons with disabilities, and Roma communities—stories that are often overlooked in mainstream discourse.

By shedding light on these neglected perspectives, Memory Makers seeks to foster a deeper and more inclusive understanding of the past and its lasting impact on our present.

Memory Makers champions diversity in historical recognition, ensuring that all voices—no matter how marginalized—are acknowledged, valued, and remembered.

Activities During the Project

Youth Symposium on Historical Narratives and Human Rights – Immersive discussions and workshops connecting young people to human rights in historical contexts.

Voices of Tolerance: Youth Forum on Belonging – Explore the role of historical remembrance in fostering social inclusion and empathy.

Webinar Series: Youth Engagement in Combating Hate Speech – Equip youth to recognize and counter online hate by examining historical discrimination.

Digital Frontiers: Youth Strategies for Inclusive Narratives – Train young participants in digital activism and inclusive storytelling.

Past Lessons, Future Insights Conference – Connect Holocaust education with contemporary global issues.

Holocaust Education and Contemporary Context – Dialogue between scholars and youth on underexplored aspects of the Holocaust.

WWII Oral History and Memory Workshop – Learn oral history techniques to document and share WWII stories and Holocaust remembrance projects.

Digital Storytelling Webinar: Preserving WWII Narratives – Use digital tools to creatively and accurately preserve historical narratives.

Social Media for Human Rights Advocacy Workshop – Empower youth to use social media effectively for historical advocacy.

Memory Makers Youth for Historical Remembrance Summit – Celebrate project achievements and youth engagement in historical awareness.

Amid this troubling backdrop, a new European initiative has launched to equip those in politics and civil society with the knowledge, confidence, and tools to recognise, prevent and respond to hate-based language and behaviour.

The people behind the SPHERE+ – Cooperation Against LGBTIQ+ Hate Speech in Political and Public Spheres project met in Brussels on 26 September 2025, marking the start of a coordinated effort to counter anti-LGBTIQ+ hate speech and hate crimes, particularly within political and public institutions, while strengthening collaboration with civil society organisations (CSOs) working on LGBTIQ+ rights.

Funded by the European Union’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, SPHERE+ brings together a unique alliance of human rights, education, research and community actors. Through research, capacity building and institutional cooperation, its goal is to make political and public life across Europe safer, fairer and more human.

Isuf Halimi of the Strasbourg-based European Centre for Human Rights (ECHR), the lead organisation of SPHERE+, explains: “Too often, politicians and public officials, the very people shaping public discourse, lack the tools, confidence or training to challenge hate when it surfaces in their own spheres of influence. When hateful or discriminatory language becomes normalised in political and civil life, it sends a dangerous signal that intolerance is acceptable. Through SPHERE+, we want to change that culture and build the confidence public figures need to speak out against hate.”

The launch meeting in Brussels brought together SPHERE+ partners, each bringing different perspectives, from countries where hostility, misinformation and fear still shape the daily experience of LGBTQI+ people to others where tolerance and equality are more firmly embedded in public life. This mix of realities gives SPHERE+ both urgency and balance, ensuring that its work reflects the full spectrum of experiences across Europe. So who is involved?

The European Centre for Human Rights (ECHR, France) serves as project coordinator, providing strong human rights and policy leadership to ensure that LGBTQI+ equality remains central to political and institutional change. Volonteurope (Belgium), active across Europe, contributes decades of experience in civic participation and democracy promotion, amplifying the voices of LGBTQI+ communities within broader social justice movements. Political Capital (Hungary) brings deep analytical expertise in political communication and disinformation research, helping to expose how anti-LGBTQI+ narratives gain traction in public debate. Deystvie (Bulgaria), a leading LGBTQI+ organisation, offers first-hand experience in legal advocacy, equality campaigning and community mobilisation, giving visibility to lived realities on the ground.   From Ireland, the Roscommon LEADER Partnership strengthens the consortium with its experience in supporting local structures that serve LGBTQI+ people and their families in rural Ireland, while Momentum brings experience in establishing the LGBTQI+ Youth Net and adds expertise in EU project communication. The European E-Learning Institute (EUEI, Denmark) ensures technical excellence in designing accessible, multilingual and interactive digital platforms.

To date, partners have focused on gathering research from over 150 politicians and staff members, alongside insights from more than 50 civil society organisations, to shape the next stages of SPHERE+ implementation. Being a listening forum from the outset is a core principle for SPHERE+, which will be built on dialogue, empathy and shared learning, ensuring that the experiences of those most affected by hate inform every stage of its work. The presence of key supporters and guest speakers gave the launch both political weight and personal resonance, reminding participants why the work of SPHERE+ matters beyond policy and project frameworks.

Marc Angel, MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament, joined the meeting to underline the importance of political leadership in defending equality and human rights. A long-standing advocate for LGBTIQ+ rights and co-chair of the European Parliament’s LGBTIQ Intergroup, Angel has consistently championed inclusion and spoken out against hate and division in public life. Reaffirming that “civil society is our best ally,” he encouraged closer cooperation between activists and policymakers to protect equality and democratic values.

Aleksa Savić, Director of Izadji (Serbia), shared a powerful testimony about the daily realities faced by LGBTIQ+ activists, who often encounter hostility and disinformation, calling for greater European solidarity. Theodor Grassos, Secretary General of EVBB, highlighted the potential of education and training systems to foster empathy and inclusion.

Over the coming months, SPHERE+ partners will continue their research, develop training and digital tools, and engage policymakers, civil society and communities across Europe.

About SPHERE+

SPHERE+ – Cooperation Against LGBTIQ+ Hate Speech in Political and Public Spheres is co-funded by the European Union’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme. The project will deliver research on hate speech and cooperation models between CSOs and politicians; training and microlearning for political and public actors; a digital learning platform open to all; and a European Code of Conduct promoting inclusive, respectful communication in public life. Together, these actions will strengthen democratic resilience and empower leaders to confront hate and foster a more inclusive Europe for all.

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Surviving the Holocaust

Online gender-based hate speech is a global phenomenon taking a number of forms of abuse and violence, which have become a threat to the physical and psychosocial well-being of women and LGBTQI+ people. While there has been some emphasis on monitoring and advocating for better responses to social media-generated hate speech, a greater focus on the role of the media in perpetuating gendered hate speech narratives as well as combatting the effects will be introduced by the project.

The CHASE project recognises the importance of supporting media, in particular online media, to detect, avoid and counter gendered online hate speech. It also recognises that CSOs/NGOs and other human rights defenders can play an additional watchdog role.

The overall objective of the CHASE project is to establish and put into practice in Cyprus, Greece, France and Italy, a comprehensive mechanism which will support online media to successfully identify and respond to situations and instances of online gender-based hate speech.

The main components and key activities are:

• Research on the existing legal framework and identification of different patterns of online hate speech & response mechanisms for cases of online gender-based hate speech;
• Development of an innovative ICT tool detecting online gender-based hate speech;

Region/Country: Greece, Cyprus, France, Italy and the wider EU region

Timeframe/dates: 1 March 2024 to 28 February 2026  

Funding programme: CERV-2023-CHAR-LITI-SPEECH

Design Thinking for
Social Change

This method will help to make better use of resources and financing, as well as educate staff, members, and activists in local governments, NGOs, development agencies, and organizations, improving the position of community change makers and civil society to address major community concerns.

Governments, academics, educators, and communities all want to know why things go wrong. According to one view, it is critical to include impacted communities in the creation of solutions, a process known as community engagement. This allows the project to be adjusted to the community’s needs, better guiding the intervention. Brown and Mickelson’s study, Why Some Well-Planned and Community-Based ICTD Interventions Fail, expands on this by looking at how simply incorporating the community in the design of an intervention isn’t enough to ensure success. It claims that mere community interaction does not always allow us to comprehend all the community’s demands.

Beyond silence

Objectives:

1. To provide a safe and inclusive environment for young women who have experienced domestic violence to share their stories, express themselves, and heal from their trauma.
2. To empower young women by fostering self-esteem, self-confidence, and resilience through workshops, mentoring, and creative activities.
3. To equip youth workers with a comprehensive understanding of domestic violence, including its causes, effects, and available support systems.
4. To enhance the skills of youth workers in providing appropriate and effective support to young women who have experienced domestic violence.
5. To develop a toolkit and training materials for youth workers, providing them with practical strategies and resources to support young women in their communities.

Expected results:

1. Empowerment and improved well-being of young women who have experienced domestic violence.
2. Enhanced knowledge and skills of youth workers, enabling them to provide more effective support and advocacy for young women.
3. Increased awareness and understanding of domestic violence among the community, leading to reduced stigma and increased reporting of incidents.

Project Objectives

• Increase the capacities of youth educators and workers to help combat online hate speech against the LGBTIQ+ community.
• Conduct desk and field research on challenges and opportunities youth are experiencing within online LGBTIQ+ hate speech.
• Upskill and empower young people to actively participate in combating online hate speech. Educators will increase their capacities to deliver in-class education and online education.
• Ensure relevant stakeholders include young people, co-create, consult, and implement plans for combating LGBTIQ+ online hate speech.

 Project Results 

• 30 Good examples of combating online hate speech, 20+ methods, and 15+ tools identified to produce a toolkit.
• 10 Good methods of combating LGBTIQ+ hate speech.
• 6 modules covering important topics on combating online hate speech.
• International 4-day Training event in France where youth and educators will receive a YOUTHPASS to record skills and competencies acquired.
• A Seat at the Table for LGBTIQ and non-LGBTIQ youth ensures stakeholders include young people to co-create, consult, and implement plans for combating hate speech.

Project Website:  https://lgbtiqyouthnet.eu

MUFOCOM

While this diversity enriches the linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe, it also challenges political decision-makers on the adequate means to assume henceforth their responsibilities, that is to say work to the overall development and well-being of the people they have accepted to welcome to their territory.

Objectives: 

1. Diversify and innovate
2. Preserve generational skills
3. Empower learners
4. Up skilling migrants’ educators

Outputs: 

1. Transnational analysis of integration policies – Professional training and good practices for migrants’ insertion in the labor market
2. Formal and non-formal education  – Multiple approaches for fostering the linguistics skills of adult migrants 
3. Which jobs for migrants? Towards a vocational guidance in relationship with migrants’ needs and the needs of labor market
4. Mentoring To improve learning abilities valuing different pathways
5. Storytelling For empowering and motivating adult migrants: success stories

Project Website: www.mufocom.eu

No violence

Non Formal and informal method will be used in this training course, Main Working methods :

Diagnostic methods of victims of violence and abuse Behavior analysis, text analysis, drawings, narration with objects, painting and using empathy methods. Drama activity Role-play Empathy Activities Therapy methods (psycho-Drama) Group work, presentations, discussion workshops, interactive activities, theater, individual work, brainstorming, etc.

The main objective of this project is to provide participants with knowledge of how to protect from abuse and violence:
and we aim Equip the participants with methods above mentioned in order recognize abuse and violence victims.

We aim: personal and professional development.
1. Stimulate interaction between participants and youth leaders, providing a space to share experiences, knowledge and learn constructively from each other.
2.  Encourage cross-cutting synergies between participants, organizations and, ultimately, all the actors involved in the project.
3.  To promote the feeling of collective construction of European society.