Spring 2019 Facebook Winners

Peer to Peer: Facebook Global Digital Challenge Spring 2019 Winners Announced in Brussels, Belgium

Last week, the spring 2019 Peer to Peer: Facebook Global Digital Challenge finals were held in Brussels, Belgium. Students from the American University of Nigeria, CEU Universidad San Pablo and University of Dhaka flew in to present their ideas to Facebook executives, policy makers and more. This year’s final presentations were especially competitive as these teams have all participated and won first place titles in the past, but the true highlight is the great impact that they’ve made in their communities over the course of the last few years.

The final ranking as determined by the judges is:

1st Place: University of Dhaka, Bangladesh (Pictured with Erin Saltman, Policy Manager of Facebook) Photo Credit: MolenGeek

1st Place: University of Dhaka (Bangladesh) — Positive Bangladesh

The Positive Bangladesh campaign transformed into a social-start up that offers youth an online platform to engage in creative work, while nurturing positive thinking. Content is contributed by youth all over the country. Their strategic media activities align with Bengali culture and four major religions of Bangladesh — portrayed through comics, illustrations, stop-motion videos and stories.

2nd Place: American University of Nigeria, Nigeria (Pictured with Erin Saltman, Policy Manager of Facebook) Photo Credit: MolenGeek

2nd Place: American University of Nigeria (Nigeria) — Women Against Violent Extremism - WAVE

The WAVE campaign built a community of survivors by connecting women who have been affected by any form of hate or violence through story-telling techniques. This encourages women to take back their agency, gain a sense of belonging and promote self expression without fear or judgement.

3rd Place: CEU San Pablo, Spain (Pictured with Erin Saltman, Policy Manager of Facebook) Photo Credit: MolenGeek

3rd Place: CEU San Pablo (Spain) — Rewind

The Rewind campaign countered the feeling of indifference that some people feel when faced with hate speech. This required continuously educating their target audience of different type of hate speech. The local community was challenged and rewarded on and offline by choosing to stand up against hate.

Congratulations to these teams for their continued commitment to countering violence and hate and effecting change in their communities!