Critical Connections – Youth Against Bullying and Misinformation
Project Activities
During the exchange, participants took part in a wide range of interactive activities combining non-formal education, critical thinking, intercultural learning and creative group work:
- Misinformation & Critical Thinking Workshops — Interactive sessions exploring misinformation, misleading content and the ways information can spread online, encouraging participants to question sources and form informed opinions.
- Bullying & Cyberbullying Activities — Role-play, discussions and forum theatre helped participants explore bullying situations from the perspectives of victims, bystanders and those responsible for harmful behaviour.
- Truth or Lie — A practical activity designed to challenge assumptions and help participants identify misleading information while discussing why certain claims appear convincing.
- Taking a Stand — Participants expressed their opinions on different topics, listened to alternative perspectives and learned how to discuss disagreements respectfully.
- International Group Challenges — Participants from different countries worked together on tasks requiring communication, cooperation, creativity and problem-solving.
- Intercultural Learning — Shared activities, conversations and everyday experiences allowed participants to discover different cultures, traditions and perspectives while identifying similarities between them.
- Creative Project Output — International groups transformed their learning and ideas into a creative final output, putting the knowledge gained during the exchange into practice.
- Daily Reflection & Evaluation — Regular reflection sessions gave participants space to evaluate their experiences, share their thoughts and identify the knowledge and skills they developed.
Expected Results and Impact
Through the Critical Connections youth exchange, participants and their communities benefited in several important ways:
- Increased awareness of misinformation, fake news, bullying and cyberbullying.
- Stronger critical thinking and media literacy skills for evaluating online information.
- Greater confidence in questioning information and recognizing misleading content.
- Better understanding of the experiences and perspectives of people affected by bullying.
- Improved communication, teamwork, creativity and problem-solving skills.
- Greater confidence to speak up and respond when witnessing bullying or harmful online behaviour.
- Stronger intercultural understanding and cooperation among young people from five different countries.
- New ideas and creative project outputs that can be shared beyond the exchange.
Ultimately, Critical Connections encouraged young people to become more informed, thoughtful and responsible participants in the digital world. The project showed that critical thinking, empathy and the courage to speak up can help create safer and more supportive online and offline communities.
The exchange also created connections that extend beyond the project itself — through new friendships, intercultural experiences, shared ideas and knowledge that participants can bring back to their own communities.
The project was funded by the Erasmus+ programme.
Project Output
This final output represents the participant's own ideas and creative work and reflects the knowledge, skills and perspectives they developed throughout the exchange.
Beyond the specific topics covered, the project helped participants strengthen their communication, teamwork, critical thinking, creativity and intercultural competences. Daily reflection and evaluation gave them space to look back on their experiences, share their thoughts and recognize what they had learned.
Most importantly, the exchange showed that young people can play an active role in addressing the challenges they encounter both online and in their communities. Learning how to question information, recognize harmful behaviour and speak up when something is wrong are skills that can continue to make a difference long after the project has ended.
After a week of learning, sharing, creating and connecting, the participants returned home with new knowledge, new friendships and a broader understanding of the world around them.