Skytte Institute participates in the new Erasmus+ project addressing the issue of social polarisation

In our current era, polarisation is rampant. Beyond traditional political divides, issues like climate change, migration, and vaccination have created stark divisions, hindering constructive dialogue. The newly funded Erasmus+ project “Action for Interactive Anti-Polarisation Learning Experiences for a Better Democracy (ActIPLEx) aims to combat social polarisation among young people by educating them about the dangers of polarisation and increasing their understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the process.

The following project is a collaborative effort between the University of Warsaw (leading organization), the University of Groningen, the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society and the University of Tartu. The project kicked off in Warsaw between April 14 and April 16, where the consortium partners discussed the detailed plan for the implementation of project activities. The project will be concluded in May 2026.

Within the framework of ActIPLEx, the Johan Skytte Institute, together with partners, will:

• Develop a set of interactive learning experiences in the form of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on FutureLearn and Moodle platforms of the University of Tartu and the University of Warsaw.
• Design, test, refine, and conduct an interactive game-based workshop on polarisation and dialogue, including educational and social simulations.
• Implement and promote the workshop format and online courses within the partnership and for a wider audience (including schools in Estonia and Poland).

The project aims to reach out to various audiences, including over 1,000 participants in the MOOC on Futurelearn, over 250 participants in open online courses on partner universities’ platforms and over 200 student participants in the game-based workshop. In addition, the ActIPLex consortium will also produce a set of Open Educational Resources (OERs) for teachers: videos, quizzes, texts, social

simulation experiments and an educational game and promote those materials during three dissemination workshops for teachers.

In the words of project leader and coordinator, Dr Agata Komendant-Brodowska, Assistant Professor, Institute of Sociology of the University of Warsaw: “Within the project, we want to address the issue of polarization by using simulation models to create engaging, accessible and immersive game-based learning experiences, for students, and for a broader audience. Such simulation-based games help the learners experience this process within a safe classroom or online game environment and gain skills that help counteract polarisation.”

According to Anna Beitane, Manager of Online Learning and Continuing Education Projects and local coordinator of the project at the Skytte Institute: “We think it is important to help citizens be resilient against processes of polarisation by means of education. ActIPLEx will develop tools to help young people gain the awareness and skills to become ’bridge builders’. “

For additional information and questions, please contact Anna Beitane, Manager of Online Learning and Continuing Education Projects, anna.beitane@ut.ee

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

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