Our Belgrade workshop participants worked on a project targeting university students who are being radicalized on campus, they were concerned about the often-experienced backlash against journalists who speak out against the dominant narrative or against extremism, mentioning “dangerous silence” and designing solutions to engage broader society in speaking out against extremist narratives and hate speech, creating a united front. Participants from Novi Pazar were concerned about mosques being targeted for demolition by the government, or being vandalized, about disinformation in mainstream media concerning the Islamic Community, and about the radicalization of youth.
Participants said:
Positive narrative is often code for less political narrative. People want us to do positive messaging, not counter-messaging, because that means you are not political, you are not a threat to the status-quo.