ADC-PAU—Critical Digital Literacy for Peace: Design and Validation of an Anti-(Neo)Fascist Pedagogical Framework with Youth in Catalonia—is a project that designs, implements, and evaluates an anti-(neo)fascist critical digital literacy framework within two educational contexts in Catalonia: a school and a leisure-time education organization in Barcelona. The project works with young people aged 14 to 25 and integrates four dimensions: ideological reading, socio-technical understanding, digital counter-narratives, and the affective and community dimension. The main output will be an open-access ADC-PAU Guide, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, designed for transfer to teachers and educators.
Objective
To design, implement, and evaluate an anti-(neo)fascist critical digital literacy framework to strengthen democratic resilience, prevent digital radicalization, and contribute to the prevention of symbolic violence and hate speech among young people.
Methodology
The research adopts a participatory mixed-methods design based on the Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) methodology. The project unfolds in three phases: an initial diagnostic phase involving questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups; an implementation phase featuring co-design sessions and participatory workshops in the two pilot settings; and an evaluation phase comprising post-test questionnaires, follow-up interviews, data analysis, and the development of the ADC-PAU Guide. Young people will actively participate in co-designing the framework and producing digital counter-narrative content.
Participating institutions
University of Barcelona, through the Esbrina research group; an educational center in Catalonia; a free-time education entity in Barcelona; and Institut Català Internacional per la Pau (ICIP), within the framework of the R-ICIP 2026 call.
Research team
- Gustavo Herrera Urízar – lead researcher
- Carlota Rodríguez Silva
- Martí Manzano.
Institut Català Internacional per la Pau (ICIP), Convocatoria R-ICIP 2026. Codi ICI04426000003.
