The residential “Training course on using tools for developing human rights narratives to counter hate speech” organised by APICE was held from 8 to 12 December in Casapesenna - Italy.

The course brought together members of the Activist Group of the No Hate Speech Movement Italy together with youth workers and young people engaged at different levels in the fight against hatred. It aimed familiarizing participants with the toolkit developed by the project “We CAN for Human Rights Speech” and enable them to use it in their daily practice while developing counter and alternative narratives to hate speech.

The group met at Il Paguro, a youth hostel built in a house confiscated from camorra managed by Giosef Italy. The program, based on non-formal education approach, started with an initial moment of knowledge and group building, followed by discussions and debates on the fight against hate speech, the tools available from the No Hate Speech Movement campaign, the We CAN project and the different activists’ practices. Participants also reflected on the role of no hate activists and how positive changes can be introduced through daily practices.

The new online toolkit was tested on various case studies, taken from the news, concerning different target groups. This allowed participants to explore and use the toolkit, always reflecting critically and discussing the results obtained.

How campaign strategies could take advantage of the Communication Tool developed by the project was also discussed with participants joining on-line.

The course ended with the exploration of the concept of “activist sustainability” and the sharing of resources for growth and support for those who want to embrace activism.