FROM HERE WE RISE

This project aims to ensure the participation of the target population in decision making processes, whilst also recommending measures with a gender-based approach. The project would also like to strengthen cooperation between civil society, citizens and decision makers that can mitigate many of the challenges and improve the quality of life for the target group. The project objectives are as follows: ● To undertake a gender-based research study, analysing the social and economic effects on vulnerable groups; ● To undertake a series of debates and seminars, focusing on the curtailment of fundamental rights on vulnerable groups; ● To raise awareness and actively counter disinformation, through a campaign, a publication and workshops focusing on media literacy. In mid-May 2020, most people found themselves in a country with closed borders, closed schools and businesses, and restricted freedom of movement. The Covid-19 pandemic is a social and an economic crisis just as much as it is a health one - its repercussions, severe and far reaching, are being felt across the world. From school closures to devastated industries and millions of jobs lost, the social and economic costs of the pandemic are many and varied. The pandemic is threatening to widen inequalities everywhere, undermine progress on global poverty, clean energy and more. As for migration, respecting fundamental rights at borders was always a challenge in the EU. Migrants are dying at sea, facing violence and pushbacks at land borders, and overcrowding at reception centres. The pandemic fuelled further discrimination, hate crime and hate speech towards minorities, particularly people with immigrant backgrounds and Roma (https://reliefweb.int/report/world/refugees-are-paying-highest-price-covid-19-pandemic). While enforcements of quarantines and lockdowns has varied widely across jurisdictions, some governments have deployed harsh measures, including security forces using repressive and violent tactics, to enforce strict rules regarding curfews and gatherings. These measures have fallen disproportionately on the low income, marginalised, homeless, aged, mentally ill, and Roma communities, many of whom have little to no option for their shelter or livelihoods but cramped group housing or informal markets. Ultimately, the above mentioned social and economic issues are a testament to how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the enjoyment of one's fundamental rights. On the other hand, the problem of disinformation has proliferated in the last century, to the detriment of democratic debate. The COVID-19 crisis unquestionably helped fuel the deluge of disinformation but if nothing else, it has also increased awareness of its potential harm. In this regard, we aim to use the current COVID-19 disinformation as an example to counter the general issue of disinformation and other forms of interference in the democratic debate. Our activities will be geared towards empowering vulnerable groups like migrants, Roma and other minorities with media literacy tools to counter disinformation, whilst also researching, discussing and debating the social and economic repercussions brought on by the COVID-19 crisis to increase their knowledge on Fundamental Rights