We are looking for volunteers to participate in the project “International conflicts: going beyond clichés, equipping ourselves to face crises”, focusing on simplistic, conspiratorial discourses, binary and campist visions in times of conflict.
Are you between 18 and 25 years old? Join the project! We offer you knowledge, training content and tools to better understand international conflicts and the debates that can arise from them. You will also have the opportunity to put yourself into action with a group by producing training content, as well as presenting it to a group of Belgian citizens.
Register here, we will follow up with you shortly.
… But first, check the project calendar here!
After having carried out information work on the subject (documentation, training, arrival of experts), you will produce a 2-hour training module intended for the general public, to allow citizens to better understand the issues of conspiratorial discourses in international conflicts and international relations.
Why set up a project on simplistic and conspiratorial discourse?
International conflicts cause a lot of tension in Belgium. Ukraine, Azerbaijan, DR. Congo, Libya... There are many cases of conflicts which are sometimes forgotten, and very often subject to simplistic or conspiratorial debates. The communication channels and the quantity of information are numerous (often digital). Algorithmic dynamics and the simplification of messages and video clips do not facilitate the understanding of complex issues. It is therefore essential to devote time to collective and critical analysis on peace issues, always with a perspective of openness to otherness and to avoid any logic of withdrawal.
A phenomenon not without consequences
The lack of information and analysis methodology in the public space can generate two undesirable effects among citizens:
- a feeling of helplessness, which pushes us to dismiss the subject and fall into fatalism;
- a withdrawal into oneself, with a polarization of debates through simplistic and erroneous readings.
This can undermine dialogue between citizens, but also with political leaders, leading to significant social and political tensions. To combat excessively reductive or misleading readings, while facilitating the understanding of complex phenomena, it is up to us to offer tools and spaces for dialogue around these national and international issues. This is necessary to dissect the root causes of conflicts, but also their consequences, which have very concrete effects on the lives of Belgians (economic, migratory issues, social tensions, etc.)
Let’s take action together… Register yourself !
It is no longer possible to register in this group of volunteers.
Where and when does the project take place?
- meeting 1 (welcome and making contact, explanation of the project): February 8, 2024
- meeting 2 (mini training to understand international conflicts): February 22
- meeting 3 (coming from an expert on conspiracy): March 7
- meeting 4 (discussions on production and project content): March 21
To provide training with us:
- training 1 (presumably LLN): April 18
- training 2: April 25 (location to be determined)
