Privacy Defenders

Lead organisation: Youth Association NUM (Lepoglava)
Partners: Politiscope, Electronic Frontier Norway (EFN)
Support: Active Citizens Fund (EEA and Norway Grants)
Amount: €15,000

In 2022, the project Privacy Defenders was implemented together with Electronic Frontier Norway (EFN) and the Independent Youth Association from Lepoglava (NUM), with the support of the Active Citizens Fund (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Grants).

The aim of the project was to strengthen the digital literacy and resilience of young people from smaller local communities through education on digital rights and data protection, as well as the business model and hidden algorithmic structure of social networks, which are the source of numerous negative social and political phenomena – youth addiction to technology, online bullying, the rise of intolerance, hate speech and conspiracy theories in the public sphere.

Together with NUM members, an educational module for young people was developed. In addition to the highlighted topics, part of the module included the development of young people’s advocacy skills through practical work with mentorship provided by the Politiscope team. An educational leaflet for youth was created, along with a policy brief on the issue of youth mental health for relevant stakeholders and an accompanying advocacy plan. An educational workshop was held for the association’s members and volunteers.

Educated NUM members also developed and delivered two short trainings on digital rights, privacy and social networks tailored to the needs and interests of two groups in the local community – elementary school students and retirees.

Advocacy activities targeted young people in the community as well as relevant stakeholders in youth policy. At the local youth festival Jailhouse, at the “Privacy Defenders” booth, young people received informational and educational leaflets on privacy protection and digital rights. A short policy brief on youth mental health was delivered to selected expert organizations, associations, academic representatives and decision-makers, followed by both online and in-person meetings with some of them. Towards the end of the project, a meeting was held with the Vice President of the Croatian Parliament. Through these advocacy activities, the project also gained a national dimension: the voices of young people from Lepoglava were heard within institutions.

Privacy Defenders, through education and capacity building, enabled young people from the local community of Lepoglava to become active participants in the digital society, and not just its passive users.