Project Re-ACT has completed the design and defined the functions and modules of one of its core outcomes: a web-based prevention hub. Based on an in-depth need analysis, the defined functions, structure and modules of the hub were further refined through workshops with civil society organisations, educators and other interested persons. The so established wireframes and mock-ups lay the foundation for the subsequent development of the prevention hub by SYNYO.

Platforms or hubs are usually created to raise awareness and distribute information and data about a particular topic. In the case of Re-ACT, the prevention-hub focuses on hate speech and practices, like antisemitism, especially online. This thematic focus is based on a detailed analysis of hate data, conducted by members of the International Network Against Cyber Hate (INACH), which highlighted strong links between current online hate phenomena and hate-slurs, prejudices and practices that have been propagated in the Third Reich. 

Having defined the broad thematic focus of the prevention-hub, the next step in the development process was the implementation of an in-depth need analysis to gather the wishes, needs and challenges faced by the potential end-user groups of the hub like educators or members of civil society organisations. The analysis [link to article NEW01005402EN Re-ACT 02] identified a number of existing barriers, like a lack of best practices, for instance on how to counter antisemitism online, preventing practitioners to address hate speech and practices in a more effective manner. 

The so established insights were consequently divided into requirements regarding the actual form and functions of the prevention-hub and requirements regarding the usability of the hub. After this initial division, the requirements were assessed and translated into ideas for the modules and functionalities of the hub.

In order to provide an overall framework for this process and in response to the identified needs and gaps, to avoid duplication with existing solutions, the objectives of the prevention hub were broadly defined as: 

• To equip stakeholders with resources and support them when addressing, educating others on or countering hate phenomena, especially online
• To improve visibility and facilitate cooperation of stakeholders, projects and initiatives.
• To raise awareness and inform on phenomena of hate online. 
• To provide and facilitate the exchange and reach of high-quality educational materials and tools. 

Guided by these objectives and informed by the structured needs, challenges and wishes of the prevention-hub´s potential end-users, initial wireframes of the individual modules and the overall architecture of the prevention-hub were established by SYNYO. These were used to validate and refine the design of the prevention hub through discussions with potential end-users, like educators and members of civil society organisations, with whom an online workshop was organised by SYNYO and during the INACH annual conference on 15th of October 2020. 

After integrating the so obtained feedback, the design of the prevention hub was finalised, laying the groundwork for the subsequent development of the prevention-hub by SYNYO. 

Introducing the prevention-hub 

The prevention-hub is generally conceptualised as an open platform, where different target groups such as educators, practitioners, CSOs, policy makers and interested parties find information and services.

Home

In order to ensure the success and usability of the prevention hub, users will first be introduced to the overall purpose, functionalities and background of the prevention-hub in the “Home” section, which will act as landing page. Here, users are familiarised with the different modules and their functions and are introduced to the project via the created Introductory video.

News & Knowledge

During the need analysis a high demand for ready to use and share materials and articles, especially with regards to awareness raising, was discovered. Furthermore, SYNYO´s experience from other (EU-) projects shows, that online platforms need to demonstrate continuous activity and provide not only a set of tools but also content. Consequently, the prevention-hub will feature “news” and “knowledge” articles, with the first one informing on specific upcoming events, new publications or recent developments, while the latter are longer articles on challenges, trends, classifications, definitions and analyses, which will include analysis and reports that have been developed within the project. 

Material library

It is common knowledge that practitioners often have difficulties in finding relevant material and resources. This assumption was reinforced during the project´s needs analysis. When asked what barriers are preventing the reached stakeholders from addressing antisemitism, antigypsyism and other types of hate, the significant majority expressed a lack of best practices and other related material needs, like easy to share educational materials.

As the platform is intended to be an information and knowledge hub, the Third-Party Resources module provides different guidelines, studies, handbooks and other sources that have been developed in other projects or by cooperation partners and others. This module includes a structured, filterable and categorized collection of relevant materials, which are briefly described and directly linked to the source.

Stakeholder & Consortium Map

Re-ACT´s online survey also highlighted the rich number of organisations and interested parties active in addressing antisemitism, antigypsyism and other types of hate. However, especially smaller organisations often lack public recognition, which was stressed repeatedly during a survey and workshops. As the needs analysis also highlighted the importance of information exchange and cooperation, mutual awareness needs to be established first to facilitate this process. 

Consequently, the stakeholder map will include a filterable database, visualised as a map, of relevant organisations and networks dedicated to counter or which are related to antisemitism, antigypsyism and other hate phenomena, especially online.

Project Directory

Similar to the stakeholder map, the project directory includes relevant initiatives and projects dedicated to counter or which are related to antisemitism, antigypsyism and other hate phenomena, especially online. During workshops and the INACH annual conference, many stakeholders commented on this important module, suggesting the inclusion of smaller as well as national projects. 

Therefore, the module is envisioned to facilitate cooperation by increasing mutual awareness and to boost the overall outreach of especially smaller projects and initiatives across Europe on an international and national basis. 

Links

Project Website: https://react.inach.net/

Keywords

Hub, platform, development, design, prevention, online, Re-ACT, hate speech, prevention-hub,