On December 4-6, 2023, an inception meeting of partners from ERIM (Equal Rights and Independent Media, France), MediaNet International Centre for Journalism (Kazakhstan), Media Sabak Foundation (Kyrgyzstan) and Gurdofarid Public Organization (Tajikistan) was held to officially launch the Empowering Marginalized Youth in Central Asia to Resist Hate Speech and Propaganda through Educational Gaming (QLEVER+) with the support of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the U.S. Department of State (DRL).

This project is a logical continuation of the BRYCA project, which was successfully implemented by partners in 2020-2022.

It is planned to continue working on the educational and entertainment platform QLEVER.Asia for 2 years as an innovative method of developing critical thinking and increasing the resilience of vulnerable youth in Central Asia to disinformation, propaganda, violent radicalism and hate speech on the Internet through themed online games and encouragement.

Today, there are more than 130,000 active QLEVER players in Central Asia between the ages of 12 and 35. 32% of our registered users are female, and 42% are users from regional communities. 88% of users are “vulnerable”.

In addition, important components of the project are activities to raise awareness among young people and teachers on media and information literacy and fact–checking, as well as to improve interaction in the region within the framework of MIL Camps – field training camps and networking events in partner countries.

It is also planned to implement Small Grants Program for members of the Eurasian Fact-Checking and Media Literacy Network (EFMN) to support and develop fact-checking in Central Asian countries by providing financial support and mentoring to organizations dealing with this topic.

More information:
Alyona Koshkina, Qlever+ Project Manager in Kazakhstan
alyona@medianet.ngo