#faces4heritage: a 'face-off' against extremism

A class of students from USI – Università della Svizzera italiana (Lugano, Switzerland) has been invited by the US Department of State in Washington to the finals of P2P: Challenging Extremism, an initiative managed by EdVenture Partners through which the US Government has called on university students around the world to develop positive social media narratives to challenge extremism. The group of students, under the supervision of UNESCO Chair and USI professor Lorenzo Cantoni, assisted by Dr. Silvia De Ascaniis, devised #faces4heritage as part of the graduate course on eGovernment (Master of Arts in Public Management and Policy). In competition with 44 other higher education institutions, the project developed at USI in Lugano has entered the finals, alongside a class from the prestigious United States Military Academy at West Point, and one from the Lahore University of Management Sciences, a leading university in Pakistan and one of the top institutes in the Asian continent.

The role of social media in the propaganda of organizations such as ISIS is growing, as proved once again by the recent tragic terrorist attacks in Paris. It has also become increasingly difficult to oppose such content, for the freedom of speech principle on one hand and for technical reasons on the other: the removal of images and the closing of social media profiles, in fact, are often measures that occur too late or that are ineffective because of the easy, swift and relentless creation of new profiles and pages.

The Paris attacks, however, tell us that the Internet can also be used to convey opposite values. With the intent to encourage a positive narrative on social media, the US Government launched in 2015 the P2P: Challenging Extremism initiative, which was recently presented by President Obama in September at the Leaders’ Summit to Counter ISIL and Violent Extremism.

The Università della Svizzera italiana is one of the 45 institutions who entered the contest from all over the world, and the only participant from Switzerland. With the support of the UNESCO Chair, the USI students created #faces4heritage and launched the campaign “Yes, with my face!”. At www.faces4heritage.org you can create a special profile image to share on social media and to “face-off” extremism, hence supporting the importance of preserving the common heritage of mankind to build peace and mutual understanding.

UNESCO has commended the USI initiative in its #Unite4Heritage program (www.unite4heritage.org). #faces4heritage has proved to be the most relevant initiative of its kind on Twitter, in support therefore of the global #Unite4Heritage campaign.

“The United States Department of State is proud to support the P2P: Challenging Extremism program, an important global effort to engage students from around the world,” said Suzan G. LeVine, United States Ambassador to Switzerland. “We congratulate the USI team on this well-deserved recognition of their innovative campaign to raise awareness on the link between extremism and cultural heritage protection. We wish them the best of luck in the finals and urge everyone to join the Faces4Heritage campaign!”

Dr. Silvia De Ascaniis, coordinator of #faces4heritage, said that“Culture and remembrance are everyone’s heritage, beyond all ethnic or religious difference, and we are proud that our initiative is helping to spread this message, gathering appraisals by many people not only in Europe and the United States, but also in the Middle East and in Asia. We have had several visits to the site also from Africa, and many ‘likes’ on Facebook also from Ethiopia and Afghanistan”. According to UNESCO Chair and eGovernment course director, USI professor Lorenzo Cantoni, “Every year, over one billion individuals travel across a national border for leisure, a great opportunity to promote broader awareness of one’s cultural heritage, for a respectful and genuine dialogue with others. It does not mean, as some may think, to disown one’s culture, or any culture for that sake. Quite the contrary, it means enhancing it and to access other traditions with respect and due attention. Extremism must be challenged also on a cultural level, which is why it is important to spread as much as possible – by exploiting also the ubiquity of digital technologies – a positive narrative and appealing messages for mutual understanding, to encourage dialogue rather than confrontation.”

The winner of P2P: Challenging Extremism will be announced on February 2nd, 2016. The USI initiative will remain active beyond this date and is open to everyone who wishes to contribute.

For information: www.faces4heritage.org