Turning online hate on its head using empathy, understanding and resilience

July 30, 2018

Project SOMEONE in a nutshell:

  • 44,000+ views on the SOMEONE website since its launch in 2016.
  • 12,000+ users from 136 countries (80% from Canada, USA and UK).
  • 11,300+ attendees at public events held over 3 continents.
  • 11 adaptable educational projects as well as a variety of activities conducted across North America, parts of Europe and the Middle East.

Since its creation at Concordia University in 2014, Project SOMEONE (SOcial Media EducatiON Everyday) and partners have participated in many ongoing activities at local, national and international levels. 

Between 2015 and July 2018, Project Someone teams presented 64 activities within the province of Quebec and 22 activities in other Canadian provinces, involving over 4300 people in audience. Reaching an additional audience of approximately 7000 individuals beyond national borders, Project Someone also took part in 25 international activities in the US, Europe and Asia. Overall, Project Someone has been involved with more than 11,300 individuals from a variety of backgrounds.

 

In collaboration with partners that include (but are not limited to) schools and school boards, local and international organizations, NGOs, governmental organizations, human right groups and different universities, SOMEONE maintains an active public presence to offer policy makers and members of the broader public different strategies to develop critical thinking and informed literacy skills to negotiate events of hate speech encountered in online and offline spaces. In total, Project Someone trained over 4000 youth, educators, community leaders and policy officials across Canada and 1500 internationally (Oslo, Bergen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Brussels, Bonn and around the USA). 

 

With its 11 projects developed by collaborative research practitioners, Project Someone also offers to educational institutions a variety of curricular activities meant to open dialogue on hate speech. While doing so, SOMEONE tailors those projects to best suit the needs of the community with which it works.