An open lecture on the need to combat hate speech was delivered at the University of Tirana’s Faculty of History and Philology. The event gathered journalism students and experts who discussed in particular the role of the media in addressing this phenomenon.

Participants included Mirela Oktrova, Head of Complaints’ Council at the Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA), who talked about the roles of the No Hate Alliance and the AMA. Vilma Shurdha, Commissioner at the People's Advocate, discussed the identification and combatting of hate speech in daily life, and Robert Gajda, Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination, proposed some practical approaches to handling hate speech. Klodiana Gjenerali from the Albanian Media Council highlighted the challenges and strategies related to hate speech in new media. The interventions were followed by an open discussion, allowing for a lively exchange of ideas among participants.

No Hate Alliance  is an initiative of the People's Advocate, Audiovisual Media Authority, Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination, and the Albanian Media Council aimed to strengthen stakeholders’ cooperation to address the hate speech.

The event provided a platform for learning and discussion and also reinforced the community's commitment to fostering a more inclusive and respectful media landscape. The discussion provided insights into the detrimental effects of hate speech but also equipped journalism students with tools and knowledge to combat it effectively in their future careers. By fostering dialogue and collaboration among key stakeholders, this was an important step towards building a more inclusive and tolerant society in Albania.

The activity was organised within the action “Protecting freedom of expression and of the media in Albania” implemented by the Council of Europe Division for Co-operation on Freedom of Expression, and “Advancing the Protection from Discrimination in Albania” which are part of the joint European Union and the Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.