ENTER2017 eTourism Conference presentation

1. Challenging Extremism
Peer 2 Peer
“Music is a great blessing. It has the power to elevate
and liberate us.
It sets people free to dream. It can unite us to sing with
one voice.
Such is the value of music”
Nelson Mandela

2. The Team
Januar 19, 2017 | 2
Chris&an Pallmer, Lukas Fischer,
Henrie5e Pflug, Melanie Nobis,
Konstanze Meyer
Master students: Sustainable
Tourism Management
Lisa Barthelmes
Phd.
Rakan Al-Deri
Master student
EcoFarming
Prof. Dr. Claudia
Brözel

3. Executive Summary
▪ The social media campaign HeimaTunes was designed by a
multi-disciplinary and intercultural team. The goal of the
project is to create a positive and welcoming space for
newcomers to Germany and to counteract the recent increase
in violent extremism against refugees.
▪ HeimaTunes addresses “uncommitted“ peers, especially those
who are negative or even resentful or aggressive about and
towards refugees coming to Germany
▪ The platform for the campaign is a website as well as
different social media channels
▪ HeimaTunes has reached 430,483 people (unique users) from
75 countries so far
▪ HeimaTunes has transformed indifferent or even negative
attitudes into positive support and had a powerful impact on
the mindset of many peers
Januar 19, 2017 | 3

4. Gateway: Refugee Crisis in Europe and an
increase of Right-Wing Extremism
§ Political background in Germany: refugee crisis
§ Refugee crisis in Europe affects Germany the most with 34%
of all refugees coming to Germany
§ Increase of right-wing extremism by 364% in 2015:
§ 557 attacks on refugee shelters
§ 131 arson attacks on refugee shelters
§ 205 physical assaults by right-wing extremists
§ Rise of the right-wing populist movement PEGIDA
§ New political party AfD (Alternative for Germany)
§ 283 right-wing protests against refugees in 2015
Januar 19, 2017 | 4
https://www.mut-gegen-rechte-gewalt.de/
http://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2015-11/rechtsextremismus-fluechtlingsunterkuenfte-gewalt-
gegen-fluechtlinge-justiz-taeter-urteile
https://www.proasyl.de/news/rassistische-gewalt-gegen-fluechtlinge-nimmt-weiter-zu
https://www.proasyl.de/news/2015-dramatischer-anstieg-von-gewalt-gegen-fluechtlinge/

5. Gateway: Climate of Fear
▪ Right-wing groups and parties instrumentalize fear as a
strategy to recruit members
▪ Fear of the “other”, the unknown, and a marked fear of Islam,
as well as a fear of economic instability
▪ Right-wing extremists purposely create an atmosphere of fear
in Germany
Januar 19, 2017
AfD election poster: “To make sure that Baden-
Wurttemberg remains homeland (“Heimat”)
(picture by Lukas Fischer)
Pegida Protest in Cologne
(source: www.tagesschau.de)

6. Pre-Campaign Primary Research
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Questions about motives
for right-wing extremism,
strategies of violent
groups, the current
refugees crisis, personal
relation to “Heimat” and
music
20 in-depth interviews
to assess people’s
motivation to join
right-wing extremist
groups
People of all age groups, professional
and political backgrounds, ethnicities
and gender - particularly people working
with refugees, musicians, refugees
themselves, as well as groups of people
who are not engaged with or are
negative about refugees

7. Pre-Campaign Primary Research:
Results
§ People join right-wing extremist groups for different reasons:
– Achieve a sense of belonging, to be part of a group
– Perception of refugees as a threat
– Fear of the unknown, the “other”
§ Anxiety paired with economic insecurity often lead to right-
wing extremist opinions and peak in violent actions
§ Irrational emotions like fear cannot be addressed by logic and
rational arguments
§ Current climate of fear needs to be counteracted
à Creating an atmosphere of mutual understanding
and empathy
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8. Target Market
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„Music connected all of us in an easy but profound way”
a HeimaTunes participant from South Africa
Uncommitted peers
▪ Have not yet had any
positive or negative
encounters with newcomers/
refugees
▪ Channel their insecurities
and curiosity in a positive
way
▪ 18-35 year olds
▪ Among peers may also be
newcomers
Message goal:
Newcomers also have a
“Heimat” that they left
behind!

9. Messaging Strategy
Heimat as the key element
▪ “Heimat” is a German word that has far stronger connotations
than the direct English translation , “homeland“. “Heimat”
means more an environment where one “feels at home” or has
“a sense of belonging” and may refer to a specific place,
landscape, hometown or feelings.
▪ Many Germans strongly identify with their “Heimat”
– Right-wing extremists instrumentalize the term for their
own purposes
▪ Emphasize the positive connotation of the term and redefine
the meaning of “Heimat”
Januar 19, 2017 | 9
“Heimat is wherever I feel comfortable and at ease”
a HeimaTunes participant from Syria

10. Messaging Strategy
Goals & Terms
Goals
▪ Creating a counter-narrative to populist media reports about
refugees
▪ Prevent uncommitted peers from joining right-wing
demonstrations, voting for AfD
▪ Reduce fears, stereotypes and potentially violent actions
▪ Inspire target group to engage actively in campaign
Terms
▪ The term “refugee“ is a stigma that many people coming from
the Middle East and North Africa don‘t identify with
▪ “Newcomer“ as a neutral, positive term that opens new
perspectives
▪ Heimat as an emotionally loaded term for many Germans
Januar 19, 2017 | 10

11. The Idea: Connecting Music &
Heimat
▪ Irrational emotions like fear cannot be addressed by
logic and rational arguments (see primary research)
▪ Music as a powerful medium which may reach and move
people
▪ Heimat as a place and an emotion in connection with
music
▪ Intercultural exchange of songs, melodies and sounds
from different Heimats
Januar 19, 2017 | 11
“In a world of diversity where often values clash, music leaps across
language barriers and unites people of quite different cultural
backgrounds […] through music, all peoples can come together to make
the world a more harmonious place”
Kofi Annan

12. The Name: HeimaTunes
Januar 19, 2017 | 12
“Music does bring people together. It allows us to experience the
same emotions. People everywhere are the same in heart and spirit.
No matter what language we speak, what color we are, the form of
our politics or the expression of our love and our faith, music
proves: We are the same”
John Denver
… can be songs, everyday noises or sounds in which
newcomers reciprocally exchange or share their “Heimat” with
German residents via audio or video content.
… encourages residents to reflect on their “Heimat” to facilitate
the arrival of newcomers and to connect both parties in order
to start an integrative dialogue.
… creates a dialogue and initiates an exchange between people
with different cultural backgrounds.

13. Media Plan
General
▪ Launch of website as a hub
▪ Social media channels, especially
facebook to reach peers
▪ Quality check of submitted videos
▪ Languages: German, English,
Arabic
▪ The majority of peers are using
social media
▪ Embed video content via Youtube
▪ Call to Action: Upload your
HeimaTunes!!!
▪ Measures of Success
▪ Number of people involved in
Videos
▪ Reach
▪ Contribution
▪ Likes, shares
▪ Change of attitude
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Strategy for Participation
▪ Low participation barriers –
everyone is able to sing or record
a sound, no special skills
necessary in order to be able to
participate
▪ Combination of online and offline
tools – high involvement by
asking target audience to
generate content and participate
Planned Budget

14. Project Implementation:
Website
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§ Website in 3 different
languages: German, English,
Arabic → target group speaks
German, the majority of
newcomers speak English
and/or Arabic
§ Changing banners with
different landscapes of
„Heimat“

15. Januar 19, 2017 | 15
Our content was
simultaneously
published in different
media
Project Implementation:
Social Media Presence

16. Offline Events
Travel Massive April 12, 2016
„Crossing Cultural Borders“
▪ Presentation of HeimaTunes and discussion
about tourism industry and intercultural
understanding
▪ Location: Social Impact Lab Berlin
▪ Organizer: http://www.travelmassive.com
Januar 19, 2017 | 16

17. Offline Events
Tape Art Workshop with Newcomers and Intercultural
concert – April 15, 2016
▪ Location: Neue Nachbarschaft
▪ 13 workshop participants and around 120 guests with various
cultural background
▪ Tape Art by Tape That with an artistic approach to „Heimat“
▪ Platform for intercultural exchange
▪ Performances by Nicolás from Chile, Lau from Italy and
Yuri from Japan
▪ HeimaTunes station to record tunes
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18. Offline Media
1,000 Business cards 350 Stickers
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The purpose of our sticker is
to be spread around Berlin and
the university campus to
maximize our reach.
Additionally, we use photos of
the stickers at famous sights
in Berlin and Hamburg to
further promote our campaign
online. We created a “Sticker
Album” on facebook.
After a personal conversation
with one of our members, our
business card serves as a
reminder to get back to us
through our media channels.

19. Evaluation: Press Relations
Goals of press relations
▪ Complement social media
activities
▪ Improve online reach
through content from
other sources
(newspapers, radio
stations etc.)
Januar 19, 2017 | 19
Open rate and click rate
of press release above
average
Tools: press releases sent via
Mailchimp to:
▪ Own media list of approx. 1,200
recipients
▪ Media contacts through the
University's press network

20. Results
▪ FluxFM HeimaTunes event was featured
as “event of the day“ on the Berlin-based
radio station addressing a creative and
innovative crowd, style and opinion
leaders
à 160,000 listeners per day
▪ Forum Nachhaltig Wirtschaften –
online magazine specialized in
sustainable business. Target audience:
decision makers in politics, business
and societies, NGOs
à 15,000 visitors per month
à print run: 25,130
▪ Märkische Oderzeitung – appearance
online and offline – local newspaper in
the state of Brandenburg
à 338,000 unique visitors per month
à 75,300 sold copiesJanuar 19, 2017 | 20
Evaluation: Press Relations

21. Evaluation: Facebook
▪ 1,258 likes (March 3 - May 2, 2016)
▪ Mostly male fans between 18 and 34 (67%)
▪ Majority of our fans lives in Germany (89%), considerable
proportion speak Arabic (31%)
▪ The structure of our fans is a mirror of the intercultural
dialog we aimed for
▪ We reached residents and newcomers
Januar 19, 2017 | 21
Facebook Like Map
72 % 28%
Language Number
of Fans
Arabic
German
English (US)
English (UK)
French (France)
413
372
266
77
27
Our Fans speak

22. Evaluation: Website – Traffic &
Reach
Januar 19, 2017 | 22
▪ 55 countries reached worldwide through the website
▪ 60% of the sessions are generated through Social Media
▪ This meets our strategy to use the website as a hub and to
generate traffic via social media
▪ 30% of the sessions that used the URL to reach our site à
successful offline marketing of our business cards and stickers on
the organized events
In total:
4,739 Page Views
2,322 Sessions 71%
New visitors
1,652 Unique Users 29%
Returning visitors

23. Evaluation - Change of Attitude
▪ Did HeimaTunes change
your perspective on
newcomers and refugees in
a positive way?
▪ Do you think that music can
reduce fear and change
attitudes? 98% said yes!
▪ Please rate the campaign on
a scale from 1 (bad) to 10
(excellent): 8,79 (average)
Januar 19, 2017 23
Zitate aus SM:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/analyze/
IKZLZwwavSHdmgBTCI5Fxv8TDhBa8qTdHAmqbIBLDZU_3D
∅
8.79

24. Challenges and Learnings
Learnings:
▪ Strong team building
▪ Connection to many different
cultures
▪ Personal friends/ newcomers
▪ Explosiveness of topic
(negative comments)
▪ Biggest impact with a
combination of online and
offline activities
Januar 19, 2017 | 24
Challenges:
▪ Time pressure vs. quality
▪ Short starting period
▪ Team size - responsibilities/
person
▪ Specific skills required:
empathy, digital knowledge,
courage
▪ Encourage peers to participate
▪ Communication of a
decentralized team through
different channels: Slack,
Go2Meeting, WhatsApp
“At first it was difficult to sing in
front of the camera, especially in a
language that was new to me”
“I experienced music as the
most effective way to tear down
barriers between cultures and to
connect people”
Melanie Nobis
Christian Pallmer