Conference: Tackling hate speech (Budapest, 27-28 November 2012)

Budapest,
27-28 November 2012

"Tackling hate speech: Living together online"

Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland will be the keynote speaker at a two-day conference on tackling hate speech in Budapest from Tuesday 27 November 2012.

The conference is being organised by the Council of Europe and the EEA and Norway Grants (programmes funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to help reduce disparities in 15 EU member states) together with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The aim of the conference is to look at the nature and extent of hate speech in today’s Europe – especially online – and to discuss different ways of tackling intolerance whilst defending free speech.

The conference will hear a number of different viewpoints, including from researchers, online activists against hate speech and relevant NGOs including Amnesty International. Human Rights Watch and the International Network Against Cyber-Hate. Facebook’s head of European policy will also speak at the event, as will representatives of the “traditional” media and international organisations including the United Nations and the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency.

The conference will be preceded by a training course on hate speech for influential young bloggers, some of whom will take part in the main event. The forthcoming Council of Europe youth campaign on tackling hate speech will also be presented at the conference, as will two new publications from the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency on hate crime and victimisation of minorities.