Salam To You

Young people are increasingly encountering anti-democratic content on the Internet that may have the potential to make them doubt their place in the center of society – and even trigger radicalization processes.

In their online recruitment efforts, extremist groups deliberately instrumentalize the abstract desire for justice that is pronounced among young people and often target their emotional needs (belonging, recognition, etc.) and age-specific life issues (identity, search for meaning, etc.) in their efforts. The Salam to You model project is investigating how effective counter-offers to extremist content on the internet can be developed and what these offers can look like.

How can advice, support and extremism prevention work in the online age? How can at-risk young people be reached online and a conversation started with them? Which formats and contents are interesting for them, which channels and forms of communication do they prefer?

The primary starting hypothesis is that the target group can be reached out to more effectively if they are given the opportunity to choose the content and distribution channels themselves as part of the prevention work, so that these are as close to their everyday lives as possible. Salam to You focuses on their expertise and lets them participate in the development and testing of new prevention concepts in a position of co-responsibility.

The contributors take part in media workshops offered by us and have the opportunity to exchange ideas about life issues and experiences, to process them in the media and to publish them via social media. The publication of media formats stimulates reactions in the form of comments, direct messages, media sharing or other interactions. Further communication on the published content is accompanied by experienced educators. If necessary, there is the possibility of exchange (online and offline / in person) by the team of educators of the project cooperation partner Violence Prevention Network gGmbH.

The project Salam to you is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth as part of the federal program “Live Democracy!“