Tafakkar builds resilience to misinformation and toxic narratives among youth in underserved areas in southern Jordan.

Leveraging IREX’s Learn to Discern methodology, Tafakkar provides a skill-building program for active citizenship, critical thinking, critical information engagement, and design thinking.

By the end of the training, participants design online and offline initiatives for the betterment of their communities. Tafakkar then supports the implementation of these activities to foster a sense of agency and belonging.

• Equip youth with critical-thinking and media-literacy skills, using the Learn to Discern approach, to build resilience to misinformation and propaganda.
• Provide youth with opportunities to discover and become proud of their cultural heritage.
• Give youth from underserved populations the opportunity to express themselves freely and produce their own multimedia content.
• Develop young people's sense of agency and confidence in their ability to effect change through youth-led community initiatives that promote community pride, cultural heritage awareness, and a sense of belonging and identity.

• Tafakkar's curriculum: The curriculum includes four main modules: active citizenship, critical thinking, Learn to Discern, and design thinking. The training program includes daylong “discovery visits” designed to stimulate interest in local heritage and develop community pride.
• Souq Al-Afkar (Ideas Marketplace): Events to showcase participants’ plans for their media and cultural heritage projects. These marketplaces will help participants present their project ideas to stakeholders from local government and civil society institutions and receive feedback and support.
• Training of trainers: IREX has trained new facilitators, empowering them to deliver the training program to youth in their regions. We continue to mentor, coach, observe, and evaluate the trainers throughout the program.
• Learn to Discern: The program uses IREX’s Learn to Discern methodology to build resilience to misinformation and toxic narratives. Learn to Discern teaches the latest techniques for identifying misinformation. It is designed to promote healthier media habits, help people consume and process information more critically, and change online behavior.
• Community initiatives: IREX staff and partner NGOs’ facilitators will mentor and coach groups of participants in implementing their community initiatives.

Omar Qawasmeh, program manager:  Info.Tafakkar@irex.org