Comics foR LGBTQIA+ Anti-discrimination and rigHts - CRASH

<< Background >>CRASH is a response to the imperative of amplifying the voices of the LGBTQIA+ community, a minority group that faces instances of prejudice and aggression due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. CRASH aimed and has succeeded to enhance awareness, provide visibility, and establish a suitable platform for representation of the LGBTQIA+ community through the utilization of youth-designed comics. CRASH has developed initiatives to address the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community by engaging and increasing youth participation which in the context of gender issues, there is a heightened necessity for the inclusion of youth who possess a natural understanding of concepts such as gender-neutrality and gender fluidity, however are not afforded the opportunity to articulate these perspectives at the policy level. CRASH additionally succeeded in addressing the need of connecting, empowering and encouraging the LGBTQIA+ community through the development of creative skills and competencies which will amplify their employability. Moreover, the issue of complexity of ‘gender’, the promotion of social inclusion, tolerance and diversity and the empowerment of vulnerable groups was also addressed.<< Objectives >>The objective was to create, construct, and evaluate a collaborative framework that utilizes the artistic and creative abilities of young individuals, by creating an environment that challenges societal biases. Moreover, the project aimed and achieved raising awareness and a space of representation to the LGBTQIA+ community. The specific objectives were:1. Engaging a group of young artists and comic designers to develop anthologies representing the LGBTQIA+ communities.2. Supporting the empowerment of young artists through creativity aimed at attitude change. 3. Build the capacity of local communities by spreading an “attitude revolution” against prejudice and intolerance. 4. Promote attitude change in the field of anti-discrimination towards LGBTQIA+ communities.CRASH also aimed to promote social inclusion and has improved the outreach to LGBTQIA+ community, by their participation in the CRASH contest; has raised awareness on issues related to the LGBTQIA+ community, through the CRASH online platform and project activities and has applied innovative knowledge creation, capacity building and exchange of best practices and experiences with and for youth, during the international mobility stay and exchange program.<< Implementation >>The activities implemented for the project were the following:-The organization of the Comics contest, that consisted of the preparation and writing of the Call for Publication; the definition of the rules of admission to the competition and of the criteria to designate the winning comic designers.-the creation of an online platform which includes information about the project’s objectives, the project partners, the contest, the comic winners (CRASH artists), the published CRASH Comic Anthology and videos from the International Mobility in Cyprus and personal interviews with the comic winners.-The organization of an International mobility stay and Exchange program where the CRASH winners co-designed and co-created a comic anthology, together with 2 experts selected by each partner (6 in total) and other relevant experts.-The publication of the CRASH Comic Anthology in both digital and printable versions.-Podcasts, Interviews and YouTube videos of the Comic Winners and the partners.<< Results >>The concrete outputs and results of the project are the following:1.An online platform which created a virtual space for the LGBTQIA+ community2.1 call for application delivered in 6 EU languages (DE, EN, ES, FR, HL, IT) and distributed at EU level – the rules of admission and criteria were inclusive, succeeding in respecting diversity and inclusion.3.58 comics designers applications received for the Comics contest4.3 comics designers selected as winners which each received €3,0005.6 experts involved in total (2 from each partner organization) to support the work of the 3 winners6.1 International Mobility academy with 11 people (3 young comic designers, 3 staff, 5 experts/jurors) 7.exchange program of 45 hours (including workshops and study/research material) for the 3 CRASH ambassadors, covering three pillars: gender perspective (workshops with gender experts and meetings with LGBTQIA+ people; workshops with experts on characters’ animation; meetings with youth experts for ensuring youth engagement in the comic design and production process). 8.Publication of one comic strip, both in digital and printable format, reaching 32,107 people (counting downloads on website/social media, copies distribution