Four of the fellows – Saashi Windsor, Himanshu Panday, Jigyasa Gulati, and Sameer Yadav – referenced their SAPs as real-world examples of their advocacy messages. The two SAPS are Dignity in Difference and Funds4Peace. While quite different in form and function, they both perfectly encapsulate the importance and relevance of ALLY advocacy.

One of the emerging areas of great importance for capacity building is recognizing and countering hate speech, a key tool in the recruitment narratives of regional VE groups that use hate speech to construct, demarcate and institutionalize group dynamics. VE groups have cemented group identities, strengthened intra-group bonds, rejected all forms of syncretism and multiculturalism, and simultaneously defined and enforced rigid group boundaries. Though the nature, origin, and hate speech interactions are well documented in other parts of the world, there is a scarcity of such documentation in South Asia.  Linguistic complexity, the role of young people in hate speech, and pathways of identity de-construction have rarely been considered during South Asian peacebuilding processes. Though young people encounter hate speech in their everyday digital lives, they still have little to no access to constructive avenues against hate speech.

To tackle these challenges, Dignity in Difference, a youth-led and youth-centric SAP launched in September 2021 to promote inclusive citizenship and dialogue in South Asia. Through its flagship program, “Safe Digital Space Research Fellowship”, bifurcated into three phases, the SAP addresses and creates alternative pathways to hate speech in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The first phase included an online introductory training workshop aimed to build the capacity of 64 fellows, selected through an online call for applications, on topics of violent extremism, hate speech, and media literacy.

Office hours with Research Fellows from Phase 2. Himanshu Panday addresses questions of fellows regarding qualitative coding.

The second phase was launched in early 2022 to build and document rigorous evidence surrounding the mechanisms, frequency, and context of hate speech in South Asia. 26 phase one participants were onboarded as Research Fellows. Now, ALLY Fellows are teaching youth how to collect and evaluate data for real-world learning. In the third phase, the fellows will be trained in advocacy and human-centered design. Their projects, which could range from designing games to training materials, will be supported and mentored by the team and mentors. 

“There is a lot of grey space when dealing with speech. We train participants to understand the structures and distinctions of hate speech and to collect data to identify patterns and conduct campaigns against it. They’re identifying and addressing hate speech in their own contexts.” Himanshu, co-founder of Dignity in Difference Project

During the meeting with SAARC in May, ALLY Fellows shared a presentation on ALLY, particularly the policy recommendations for the governments to enact flexible policies for peacebuilding organizations and ensure active participation by youth in government. Youth are keen for opportunities to work in peacebuilding and with the governments. The training, funding, and platforms aren’t there yet, but the fellows are working to change that.

In 2014, India became the first country to legally mandate corporate social responsibility (CSR) which consists of eight areas ranging from health, and education, to meet the needs of marginalized communities. However, peacebuilding hasn’t been included. At the same time, there exist no policy frameworks at the national level. Throughout most of South Asia, the major source of funding remains international donors, and receiving such funding remains a challenge due to government suspicions and regulations.

Moreover, there is a lack of awareness of the youth, peace, and security works among the corporations and other stakeholders obliged under the CSR policy to contribute a minimum of 2% of their annual net profits. Indian companies have spent more than ₹1 trillion (around 13.5 billion USD) in CSR since 2014-15, but these funds are completely inaccessible to youth peacebuilding even when the businesses are the biggest beneficiaries of a peaceful community.

Seeing this challenge, the fellows who created the SAP Funds 4 Peace also recognized the opportunity to advocate for the incorporation of peacebuilding in state funding processes. Their online campaign has been live since May and with further support from ALLY staff, the fellows are engaged in national and regional advocacy, particularly with CSR policymakers. One of their first engagements was on May 23 with the SAARC Social Affairs Director and SAARC Development Fund.

Fellows are capitalizing on their new connections with several SAARC officials to have subsequent advocacy engagements at the national level. Additionally, Sameer and several other fellows engaged in additional advocacy engagements while in Nepal, including meeting with the Executive Director of INSEC Nepal and the Asia Forum for Human Rights and Development. Meanwhile, their SAP work continues.

Dignity in Difference (Website / Facebook / Instagram) and Funds 4 Peace (Facebook / LinkedIn / Instagram) social media pages are excellent resources for young peacebuilders who wish to learn about current issues, training, and other relevant news.