JustNow - A Toolbox for Teaching Human Rights: Blended-Learning Edition

We applied for the JustNow project to address significant gaps in human rights and historical education. The strategic partnership aimed to further develop methodical and didactic materials that integrate human rights education with simulation games and diversity learning methods. Given the success of our previous MICC project, which involved immersive, week-long simulations but faced limitations such as language barriers and economic constraints, JustNow 2.0 sought to expand access and impact. By creating a versatile blended-learning platform with modules, audiovisual content, and interactive elements, we aimed to make human rights education more accessible and engaging for diverse youth audiences. This project was crucial to support youth workers and educators in delivering high-quality, adaptable educational experiences that address contemporary issues like misinformation and civic engagement. The development and translation of materials into multiple languages, including German, Polish, and Croatian, were essential to ensure broad and inclusive access.

The JustNow project aimed to achieve several key objectives by developing a comprehensive learning platform. The core goal was to create a freely accessible, web-based platform offering diverse educational materials that could be downloaded and utilized by a broad audience. The platform is designed to support youth work specialists, young peer educators, teachers, volunteers, and others involved in human rights and history education. By providing high-quality, free resources, the project sought to amplify the impact of these materials across participating countries and beyond. We intended to enhance and diversify existing educational offerings with a focus on contemporary and diversity-conscious approaches. The platform, building upon the previous JustNow project, includes learning modules, animated films, timelines, and texts, which are intended to engage users and facilitate learning about human rights and historical contexts in a dynamic way. The expected outcome was not only to reach more users but also to foster synergy with existing educational initiatives. The project aimed to create significant ripple effects through multiplier events and training courses, thereby reaching thousands of beneficiaries directly an

The transnational project meetings were a cornerstone of the JustNow project, fostering collaboration and deepening the partnership among the involved organizations. These meetings, held in Berlin, Zagreb, and Krzyżowa, allowed partners to gain firsthand experience of each other’s working environments, thereby enhancing mutual understanding and cooperation. By visiting different countries, 39 participants gained invaluable insights into diverse cultural contexts, which helped them adapt project strategies to fit various educational landscapes. Hosting these meetings in different settings provided valuable perspectives on the operational dynamics of each organization, strengthening the partnership and ensuring that the project’s implementation was informed by a rich diversity of experiences. Additionally, these face-to-face interactions cultivated stronger relationships among partners, which facilitated smoother communication and more cohesive teamwork throughout the project's duration. The multiplier events were crucial in extending the reach and impact of the JustNow project beyond the immediate circle of partners. Organized across various European countries, these events brought together 170 participants from 19 different nations, significantly surpassing the initial expectations. The importance of these events lay in their ability to disseminate the project’s intellectual outputs—such as animation movies, activity plans, and timeline cards—to a broader audience, thereby amplifying the project’s educational impact. Multiplier events served as powerful platforms for sharing knowledge and resources with educators, youth workers, and other stakeholders, who then applied these materials in their own contexts. By engaging participants from diverse backgrounds, the events not only ensured that the JustNow materials reached a wider audience but also promoted cross-cultural dialogue and the exchange of best practices in human rights education. The success of these events in attracting participants from 19 countries highlighted the universal relevance of the project’s themes and the effectiveness of the materials in addressing contemporary challenges in human rights education. Moreover, these events were instrumental in creating a ripple effect, where trained participants became multipliers themselves, disseminating the JustNow materials within their networks and communities. This cascading impact was essential for achieving the long-term sustainability and broader adoption of the project’s outputs. The direct engagement of participants through workshops, discussions, and hands-on activities ensured that the educational tools developed during the JustNow project were not only distributed but also effectively integrated into various educational settings across Europe and beyond. In summary, both the transnational project meetings and the multiplier events were vital in enhancing the collaboration among partners, enriching the project’s implementation, and ensuring that its educational materials reached and benefited a wide and diverse audience. These elements of the JustNow project underscored the importance of strategic planning, cross-border cooperation, and targeted dissemination in achieving impactful and lasting outcomes in educational initiatives.

The project produced three new animation movies, initially planned for translation into four languages, but through the extensive efforts of the MICC Alumni Network and the project partners, these movies were translated into numerous additional languages, ensuring a wider audience. Additionally, 20 activity/workshop plans were developed, doubling the original target of ten, and translated into four languages, enhancing their accessibility. A new and unplanned component, 13 sets of timeline cards with accompanying activity/workshop plans, was also introduced, adding further depth to the educational toolkit. The initial goal of reaching 5,000 young people and youth workers directly, and 20,000 more through networks, was overwhelmingly surpassed. An internal evaluation revealed that JustNow materials reached over 72,000 beneficiaries from 125 countries. More than 6,000 individuals were directly engaged through multiplier events and dissemination activities, including the use of JustNow materials in the MICC Program sessions, and at prominent events like the NECE Festival in Madrid and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging+ Conference in Chemnitz. The project’s digital footprint is equally impressive. The JustNow website has attracted over 19,440 visitors from 123 countries, resulting in 6,200 downloads of educational materials. The animation movies on YouTube have been viewed more than 60,000 times, with an average watch time of 64%, indicating strong viewer engagement. Furthermore, the JustNow materials have become integral to other educational initiatives, such as the "Roots and Borders" project by Kreisau-Initiative e.V., where the animation on decolonization is regularly used to deepen participants' understanding. The ongoing collaboration between Kreisau-Initiative e.V. and its partners ensures that the JustNow Toolbox will continue to evolve and reach even more beneficiaries through accredited seminars, training sessions, and multiplier events under Erasmus+ Key Action 1. This project has not only met but vastly exceeded its original objectives, creating a lasting legacy in human rights education, with materials that are being used, shared, and expanded upon worldwide.