Erase Indifference Challenge

Started as an initiative at the Auschwitz Pledge Foundation, the Erase Indifference Challenge is an innovation engine created to find and fund modern, imaginative, and measurable initiatives that will lead to concrete actions and ultimately the demise of indifference, the rise of empathy, and the acceptance and celebration of our differences.

We are encouraging entries that use technology, socialization and collaboration techniques, gamification, pop culture approaches, data and research, social experiments, and/or educational tools. We are especially interested in ideas that will connect with younger people and concern one of our categories:

1. racism, 2. anti-semitism, 3. anti-immigration & xenophobia, 4. LGBTQIA+ discrimination, and 5. misogyny

It’s clear. Indifference is one of the leading causes of man’s inhumanity to man. We can do better. Together we can erase indifference towards discrimination to build a safer world for all.

Erase Indifference Challenge 2024

Competition Timeline

10/01/2024
Call for applications of the Erase Indifference Challenge

18/02/2024
Deadline to submit the application

22/03/2024
Announcement of the 10 finalists of the Erase Indifference Challenge

08 – 19/04/2024
Online workshops for the finalists

28/05/2024
Announcement of the winning projects during the Gala for the Erase Indifference Challenge, Warsaw, Poland

06/2024 - 12/2025
Implementation of the winning projects

Rules

Find out more in our FAQ and all the specifications in the Manual. You can preview the form here.

  • Consider innovative ideas that address and combat indifference towards discrimination

  • Get creative! Imagine fresh approaches to engage and inspire! We will select at least 3 innovative projects, that will win up to €30.000 grants along with mentors support

  • Use ICT in your proposal and make sure your idea is tangible, flexible, scalable, and measurable

  • Please submit your application in English

  • Present an idea that's either already in progress or completely new – it's up to you!

  • Think about whether your idea can have an impact on a local or/and a global scale. It's your choice!

Erase Indifference Challenge 2024 Winners

Israelis and Palestinians Innovating Together Towards a New Reality by Tech2Peace

T2P rings together diverse Palestinian and Israeli young adults through seminars and alumni programming blending tech and entrepreneurial training with dialogue and conflict-resolution. They overcome indifference by creating deep relationships of mutual care and understanding - inspiring participants to leverage the tech sector’s massive influence to work towards a better future for both sides.

What is Freedom? by AI for Good Foundation  

Aims to build a toolkit to combat indifference through empathy and human stories, starting with a pilot in Lithuania. The project leverages Svidok, Ukraine's largest archive of lived experiences, and involves a Vilnius-based team of Ukrainian refugees to collect and share personal stories, aiming to foster solidarity amid war fatigue and refugee crises. Using advanced linguistic algorithms, the project adapts content to different segments of society, monitors responses, and disseminates the narratives across various media platforms to make a significant impact.

Silent Voice, Justice to LGBTIQ persons by EAVA Artists

The goal of the project is to combat discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals through art and digital advocacy campaigns. Using online platforms, the movement raises awareness and provides digital safety training. Through imagery and cartoons, they simplify anti-LGBTQ+ laws and rhetoric, empowering communities to speak out against injustice.

Erase Indifference Challenge 2023 Winners

Demonetizing Online Antisemitism - Combatting Advertiser Indifference to Jew-Hatred with Brand Safety by CyberWell 

CyberWell aims to create the first focused antisemitism brand safety compliance research project – ensuring that online antisemitic content is not monetized by advertiser funds by monitoring and exposing where ads are associated with online antisemitic content. Compliance monitoring technology will help advertisers ensure that their advertisements are not funding antisemitic content on social media platforms.

The Signal for Help Ramp-Up Impact Project by Canadian Women’s Foundation  

The “Signal for Help” is a single-hand gesture that can be visually and silently used to indicate you need help without leaving a digital trace. The Canadian Women’s Foundation and its partners launched Signal for Help in April 2020 in response to an increased risk of gender-based violence and the increased use of video calls in the COVID-19 pandemic. This project builds on the Signal for Help tool and connects people poised to act on ending gendered violence with easy-to-access and easy-to-understand information and coaching including mobile-friendly action guides, flexible online courses, and peer-to-peer volunteer action support.

LGBTQ+ Friendly School Ranking by GrowSpace 

The LGBTQ-Friendly Schools Ranking from GrowSpace is a platform that helps secondary school students choose safe, open and friendly high schools in Poland. Students across the country can rate their schools using a national survey at a dedicated website. They answer questions about the safety, LGBTQ+ representation, and potential experiences of violence.

Insignia: A Gamified Social Experiment by Smilemundo 

Even though it may seem like a simple and fun communication game in which participants work towards a common goal - creating a visual representation of the group, when we look a bit closer, it is much more than that. In reality, Insignia is an “undercover” social experiment that determines the underlying source of discrimination and offers opportunity to learn first-hand just how easy it is to enter into the dynamics of social exclusion. 

Erase Indifference Challenge 2022 Winners

From Indifference to Action through Bystander Intervention by Right To Be and T’ruah

It is an anti-hate initiative aimed at combating antisemitism. Both organizations have proposed a detailed bystander intervention program, untangling the role of indifference in perpetuating violence. It is a series of intervention trainings to prevent and reduce the full spectrum of violence against the Jewish community, creating accessible tactics and strategies to eradicate indifference and support equal access to safe public spaces.

Reintegration: Gamified tools for social change in time of crisis by GD Events

Its goal is to fight indifference and discrimination towards migrants coming to Poland as a result of the current crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine. The aim of the project is to create a framework for preventing discrimination against refugee youth in Polish schools equipping teachers and educators with tools for working with multicultural groups. The toolkit consists of educational games, scenarios for workshops, lessons and community meetings available on-line for free.