At present, the digital space is marked by misinformation, disinformation, coordinated propaganda, doxxing, cyberbullying and aggressive hate speech. In this context, addressing the vulnerability of the youth, WAVE Foundation’s “Loud and Clear: Empowering Youth Voices 2.0” project, in partnership with DW Akademie and co-funded by the European Union and and Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), completed its series of 10 regional residential bootcamps across Rajshahi, Khulna, Barishal, Sylhet and Chattogram.
The bootcamp gathered 300 youth across 50 institutions, evenly connecting 150 members from 26 University Clubs with 150 volunteers from 24 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). Utilising the interactive Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach, the bootcamps equipped the youth in Media and Information Literacy (MIL), Digital Safety and Constructive Dialogue through gamified simulations and real-world exercises. The uniqueness of this initiative lies in its inclusive outreach to grassroots and marginalised youth, enabling to capture their expectations, lived experiences, and context-specific perspectives and integrate these voices into the broader intervention and policy discourse. The training recorded 50.8% female participation and an average 38.3% participation of marginalized groups, reflecting strong inclusion across the programme. The participation engaged Dalit youth, indigenous ethnic communities such as Manipuri, Chakma, Tripura, Marma, Mro, Patro, tea garden communities, religious minorities and gender-diverse groups.
Equipped with personalised digital safety plans and localised Netiquette charters, these youth are now prepared to serve as community multipliers such as by sharing among youth groups, community and online platforms, featured their learnings they practicing.
The camps were visited by Vice-Chancellors and senior teachers, including Deans and Pro-VCs of 5 public universities including 3 local administration officials, one UNO, delivered their inspiring speeches emphasising the relevance and importance of digital safety, media and information literacy and the opportunities it creates for building a safer, more inclusive and responsible digital world. Visiting a bootcamp, WAVE’s Founder and Executive Director Mohsin Ali reminded the participants of their civic duty: “July 2024 proved the immense potential of our youth to reshape society. But true transformation requires continuous practice, truth-checking and grassroots connection… How will you bring these tools to your communities?”
The outcomes resonated with the participants’ reflections, as Kurnikova Chakma from Chattogarm representing indigenous community, shared “Participating in this bootcamp has fundamentally changed how I consume, verify and respond to online content. What began as a set of digital skills became a deeper lesson on how information shapes perceptions, decisions and even lives. A powerful lesson for me was seeing how a single misleading Facebook post can contribute to real-world violence and loss of life.” Another participant Umme Sadia Resmi, a student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet shared “This was the first time I experienced a debate in a constructive way. Constructive dialogue can lead us to solve many problems.”
Looking ahead, the selected participants will channel their momentum into 10 Regional Idea Labs to produce digital content and engage policy making training focusing their community context and necessity which will trigger to shaping their advocacy skill in regional policy roundtables with journalists, policy actors and influencers. WAVE believes these youth will contribute to fostering an informed, inclusive and safe digital space and to promoting freedom of expression that will strength governance system across Bangladesh.
