Workshop “Democracy, inclusion and participation in the age of social media“

This workshop by Farah Abdi tackles the problem of mis- and underrepresentation of marginalised groups by encouraging young people to use social networks as platforms to organize and to advocate for diversity and inclusion.

Farah Abdi, Author

© El Boum

What is this workshop about?

This workshop covers the following topics:

  • democracy
  • the importance of participation
  • inclusion of marginalised communities
  • how to use the digital space to start movements and advocate for change.

Content

After an introduction and discussion on democracy, the participants will learn about the three I’s – Inform, Inspire and Involve – that create a basis for active engagement in a democracy. They serve as steps in order to identify topics that need action. The participants will then learn how to use social media as a tool to advocate for what they are passionate about. Reference is made to popular social movements like Black Lives Matter and Fridays for Future. In an exercise that can be incorporated at the end of the workshop or worked on at home, participants get to implement what they have learnt by drafting an idea of an own movement.

Duration: 90 minutes

Format: digital & on site

Target group: young people between the ages of 14 and 18

About the material

The workshop was developed as part of our Digital Europe Fellowship in cooperation with the Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft. All  materials are accessible as an Open Educational Resource.

The author and we as Understanding Europe would like to encourage teachers, young educators and educational multipliers to use it for their work.

Workshop Manual
PDF — 884 KB
Presentation: democracy, inclusion and participation in the age of social media
PDF — 2 MB
Exercise: 4 steps to a successful social media movement
PDF — 108 KB