The experience of the Mederi Foundation in working with problem youth suggests that young people from multiple problem families are often abused by adults and do not know other behaviour patterns. This is why they treat other people in a similar way. This is supported by research conducted by the Education Development Center in 2011 which suggests that 93 per cent of children replicate negative experience from home, such as alcohol and drug abuse or aggression that seem to be the only known methods of survival. Therefore, young people who are victims of violence turn into perpetrators, and those who are discriminated against turn into discriminators.
The project aimed at supporting problem youth in Warsaw while raising their engagement so that they act to defend individuals who are discriminated against in their communities. This is done by demonstrating alternative behaviours to those they inherited from home and alerting them to hate speech.
The project enabled 64 young people from three social therapy centres in Warsaw engage in anti-hate speech activities and building tolerance towards people discriminated against.
Project participants spent 10 months attending workshops and editing a website and a facebook fanpage. The workshops resulted in launching a newsletter about children's rights, three photo-stories about the rights of children, tolerance and discrimination, an ethnic and photography project and a video about hate speech and human rights. Articles about issues covered by the project were published on the Ombudsman's for the Rights of Children website, a radio and television show were produced and printed press coverage was secured. Project beneficiaries included socially vulnerable youth from social therapy centres in Warsaw.
The project was implemented in partnership with Youth Social Therapy Centre No. 2 „KĄT”, Youth Social Therapy Centre „Jędruś” and Youth Social Therapy Centre No. 8. They were responsible for recruitment, organising the workshops and supporting participants. Other partners included the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, which provided expertise in education activities and publications focused on children's rights and the Jacek Kuroń Education Foundation, which co-organised the study visit to Teremiski and the art workshop.