Hear Us Now!

Hear Us Now! Project, funded by ARK Group, is a research and advocacy project designed with a threefold purpose: firstly, to shed light on the youth's perspectives, attitudes, emotions, and perceptions regarding barriers to freedom of speech within our society, encompassing social, cultural, political, and familial domains, while identifying the activities that encourage such freedom; secondly, to foster open discussions and a sense of collective responsibility by engaging both the online and offline communities, institutional stakeholders, and young individuals through an advocacy-focused Call to Action grounded in our research insights; and thirdly, to furnish evidence that creative civic spaces are essential components of our community, capable of reshaping negative viewpoints, perceptions, and opinions. By enabling open discourse, dialogue, and the dissolution of animosity and long-standing tensions that have persisted across generations, this project aimed to address deep-seated divisions and barriers to freedom of expression. The project's scope encompasses various target audiences, including parents affected by social, cultural, religious, and sectarian divisions, youth seeking avenues to freely express themselves, community influencers like educators, donors interested in supporting shifts toward free expression and positive change, and other NGOs eager to contribute to transformative cultural shifts within the region.