How are EIC winners doing?
On Thursday 9 November we had the pleasure of meeting at the Online Meeting for the Erase Indifference Challenge Winners 2022 & 2023. All the EI Challenge winners, our partners from Zeno Group, Mitch Markson IdeaCraft and the Auschwitz Pledge Foundation team were at the meeting. We met to summarise the progress of the winners from last year and this year so far.
Project Updates - EIC 2022 Winners:
Right to Be & T’ruah: Emily May, President, Co-Founder of Right to Be, provided insights into their efforts to combat antisemitic harassment. Through collaboration with T’ruah, the initiative broadened its impact with 14 successful Bystander Intervention trainings, reaching over 3,175 participants. Notable achievements include a remarkable 98.5% recommendation rate and over 94% expressing increased confidence in stopping harassment. Additionally, Right to Be has extended its reach by partnering with CAIR-Chicago to address Islamophobia, recognizing its heightened significance during these challenging times marked by the war in Israel and Gaza.
GD Events: Stanisław Niemojewski, Head of Production in GDevents, detailed the progress of their project, highlighting the success of linguistically universal games fostering integration in multicultural schools. The initiative, tested in many schools with a high number of Ukrainian students due to the war in Ukraine, nears completion. Future plans include sustained reintegration efforts and an emphasis on promotion.
Project Updates - EIC 2023 Winners:
Canadian Women’s Foundation: Andrea Gunraj, VP of Public Engagement, presented the success of the Signal for Help Responder Learning Campaign. With 50,000 individuals initially trained, the initiative not only optimized the Digital Learning Journey but also experienced a significant increase, reaching a total of 60,000 people who signed up to be Signal for Help Responders, expanded workplace and community trainings (the goal is 40 workplaces and communities by the end of 2025), and initiated knowledge-sharing initiatives through partnerships and events (e.g. partnership with TikTok Canada). The campaign aims to change narratives around gender based violence through collaborations with influencers, documentary film festivals, and media art festivals.
Cyberwell: Tal-Or Cohen-Montyemayor, Founder and Executive Director, shared Cyberwell's milestones, which included conducting market research on existing ad-tech tools, selecting one and marking the selection of YouTube as their platform of focus. Despite ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza, and dealing with the extreme rise of antisemitic content online, the project gained global recognition, with presentations at the Eradicate Hate Global Conference in Pittsburgh, in the end of September 2023, and discussions with key industry players. Cyberwell is also in the process of securing partnerships with large technology companies.
Smilemundo: Aleksandra Zemke, the Founder of Smilemundo, introduced Smilemundo's progress, detailing the design phase of their project. The Insignia tool, tested successfully, is now evolving into a larger prototype for testing in secondary schools, universities, and the business sector. The design emphasizes the importance of implementing the tool within the institutions to assess its effectiveness. The evolving prototype aims to explore the mechanisms of social exclusion and the impact of rule-following pressure. Additionally, the team has introduced an Insignia creator, constituting the first virtual prototype. The three-month observation phase will precede the development of educational content, marking a strategic progression in the project's evolution.
GrowSPACE: Martyna Kozdra, Content Coordinator, and Dominik Kuc, Founder and CEO, shared GrowSPACE's preparations, including a refreshed graphic identity and successful volunteer recruitment. Looking ahead, the team's next steps involve updating the website and preparing to enhance the survey. With LGBTQ+ Friendly Schools Ranking at the core, new partnerships and outreach strategies aim to expand the initiative's impact. The project's adaptability is showcased by ongoing discussions in other European countries, with the website ready for scaling to other countries.
Thank you for the meeting and we are happy to see the progress and commitment that inspires further action.
APF Team
