Podcasts For Inclusion

"<< Background >>The Podcast_Inc project proposal aimed to empower local youth and migrant communities by giving them a genuine and unbiased platform on the online community radio. We wanted to equip them with new skills and knowledge about media literacy, specifically podcasts, to recognize and tackle crucial issues related to human rights, while amplifying their voices and highlighting their struggles. Our project had a strong emphasis on prioritizing and enhancing the inclusion and employability of both migrant youths and local youth. Our objective was to create additional opportunities for their growth, development, future access to EU funding opportunities, possibly paths to new careers as content creators.. We recognized the significance of new media and modern communication methods like podcasts in the daily lives of young people.By integrating the 30 Articles of the UN Declaration of Human Rights as the basis for the Podcast creation, we provided to participants and to the indirect beneficiaries a fresh view of the role of the United Nations in the world. << Objectives >>The objective of the ""PodCast_Inc"" was to empower youths from a migrant background and local youths to become content creators and provide them with additional platforms, such as radio, podcast platforms (SoundCloud, MixCloud, Spotify, Audacity etc.), and social media, through which they could make their voices heard. The manual aimed to offer training through piloting activities during the project's duration, targeting a minimum of 30 youths in three countries: France, Italy, and Malta. The focus was on developing critical thinking, publicity, publishing, communication, and soft skills to enhance social inclusion within host communities. Specifically, the objectives were creating a training course in four languages, Arabic, French, Italian and English that could be available to as many youth as possible, reducing the language barrier. Another point was promoting their media skills, competencies, and employability, giving them the possibility to contemplate a profession in the field of journalism or Social media manager. << Implementation >>The Partnership placed a strong emphasis on digital skills and media literacy. It leveraged sound mediums like radio and podcasts to effectively engage its target groups, it utilized writing skills to empower youths and marginalized communities in the field of citizen journalism. So, after meeting at a Kick off meeting to get to know each other better and physically plan the activities, a focus group with Stakeholders and professionals working with vulnerable groups took place in the 3 partner countries. Through that activity, the consortium wanted to make sure that the curriculum of the manual proposed responded to the needs of the participants.Upon the creation of the manual in four languages, a series of piloting workshops took place, where over 30 migrants and locals learned how to create podcasts about social issues, discussing the 30 articles of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.A second focus group and a 2nd Transnational partner meeting took place to review the outputs and take on board any feedback received from the participants and Stakeholders. Finally, a series of multiplier events occurred in the three countries, to present the manuals and the podcasts and articles created.<< Results >>The tangible results were the creation of the multilingual training course in English, French, Arabic and Italian, that is easy to use for personal training of youths, even for those from a migrant background with less opportunities. The output was a Podcast literacy tool and citizen journalism training to amplify migrants and local youth voices.Another result was the production by participants of 30 podcasts in 4 languages, leveraging as the base for discussion the 30 Articles of the UN Declaration of Human Right, to create content published in platforms such as Mixcloud, Spotify, Google Podcast, radio.Another tangible result is the writing of over 30 articles by participants, building on their life experience using the skills acquired during the piloting. A jingle for the intro and outro for the project was also created, an activity that created a bond between participants, as it was made in four languages. The dissemination of the project outputs with relevant stakeholders reached over 10.000 audiences across various platforms through a series of multiplier events, multilingual newsletters, press coverage, as well as open licensing of the material (e.g . on partners' organization website, and SALTO Tool box)."