CREDIBLE is on a mission to transform how young people engage with information as they build resilience to manipulative information, participate actively in fact-based conversations and decision-making, and foster more responsive and responsible information consumption habits in Latin America and the Caribbean.  

Over five years, this USAID-funded project funded works with young information consumers and content creators in Latin America and the Caribbean to build communities that are more aware, engaged, and proactive in promoting quality information. Through the program, young people are trained, empowered, and challenged to bring critical-thinking and emotional intelligence to the content they, and their friends and families, create and consume.

CREDIBLE’s work is possible due to the extraordinary talent and vision of its local partners Entrena (Dominican Republic), Paz Joven and Laboratorio de Medios (Guatemala), CEDRO and OjoPúblico (Peru), Makaia (Colombia) and more, who have brought unique approaches to ensure that all learning activities are dynamic, relevant, and youth centered. These young people, journalists, content creators, and users alike, are tasked to bring new skills and behaviors into their daily lives and spread good habits to their peers and communities.  

• CREDIBLE has reached over 1,600 young people with practical, dynamic training experiences, building their resilience to manipulative information sources. Over 2,100 people of all ages have been impacted by its training and outreach programs combined. 
• Over 90% of participants in CREDIBLE activities go on to share the skills and behaviors they learn from CREDIBLE, bringing its impact beyond the training into the real world.   
• CREDIBLE’s partners are experts in information integrity and resilience, crafting curricula around the needs of their local communities and their own tested approaches. These organizations are further supported by CREDIBLE to build out this reputation and engage in further funding, partnerships, and activities to reach even more youth. 

• Resisting Hate Speech Ahead of Elections: Dominican Youth’s Efforts - IREX and its local partner ENTRENA organized a series of roundtables in the Dominican Republic. More than 166 youths from San Francisco de Macorís and Villas Agrícolas, alongside representatives of local organizations, took part in the two roundtables. These sessions covered topics related to discrimination, the impact of hate speech during elections, and reflections on past elections. 
• Regional Steering, Ownership and Leadership Team (SOL) - Amplifying the Informational Ecosystem in the LAC - A cohort of nine young leaders, comprised of three representatives from each of CREDIBLE's implementing countries—Guatemala, Peru, and the Dominican Republic—united with a common objective: to combat information manipulation and enhance resilience against manipulative information within their respective nations and the broader LAC region. 
• CREDIBLE Voces de la Juventud Launches SOL Teams in Peru! - A core element of CREDIBLE's design, each of the program's partners in Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala will select young people to be a part of a Steering, Ownership, and Learning (SOL) Team. 
• CREDIBLE launches Master Learning Session - CREDIBLE VOCES de la Juventud has launched the Master Learning Session (MLS) for local partners and IREX program staff. This interactive onboarding will be delivered completely in Spanish and will cover the basics of Learn to Discern, YES, GESI, DEI, and other IREX approaches, as well as support for the development of local models of intervention. 

CREDIBLE Fact Sheet

Guatemala - Paz Joven integrates media and digital literacy into middle school education across public and private schools in Huehuetenango and Quetzaltenango. By partnering with national institutions and organizations overseeing public schools, they'll provide training and guidance, aiming to impact 500 students and 100 youth leaders. 

Peru - CEDRO promotes responsible and resilient citizenship in San Martin's Amazonian region through youth-led activities in schools and communities. About 900 students will be trained by teachers using the L2D curriculum, and 200 youth leaders will attend sessions on resilience to information manipulation and leadership. 

Dominican Republic: ENTRENA equips youth across four DR municipalities to enhance education and career prospects by providing tools and training. Through a hybrid MDL program, youth leaders from established networks will train peers, expanding knowledge to a wider youth audience. 

Colombia: MAKAIA improves the digital and media literacy skills of and fosters positive community engagement, particularly among youth. Two bootcamps will empower youth advocacy and leadership while aiding in the design and implementation of public policy accountability projects across Colombian municipalities. 

MEDIA PARTNERS 

Guatemala:  

Laboratorio de Medios trains young journalists, content creators and communication students of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, to produce high-quality content that prevents information manipulation. 

Peru:  

OjoPúblico promotes skills and competences in young content creators from Lima and San Martin regions to fight against information manipulation. 

In 2024, these media partners have joined CREDIBLE in executing an Accelerator Bootcamp, an exciting opportunity for young content creators and journalists to learn how to make content more reliable and relevant for young audiences across Latin America and the Caribbean. This hybrid learning opportunity imparts new skills and sets groups of creators up to receive seed funding to publish innovative stories that target young people’s needs.

• Laura Agosta, Chief of Party | lagosta@irex.org
• Diana Rodriguez, Regional Program Manager, Peru | drodriguez@irex.org
• Adriana Calderon, Program Manager, Colombia | acalderon@irex.org
• Carlodys Almeyda, Program Officer, Dominican Republic | calmeyda@irex.org 
• Erik Galvez, Program Officer, Guatemala | egalvez@irex.org
• Tara Susman-Peña | tsusmanpena@irex.org
• Nick Ebert, Senior Program Officer II | nebert@irex.org
• Irma Kurtanidze | ikurtanidze@irex.org