In her first speech in her new role as chair of the Advisory Council on Youth, Anja Olin Pape thanked the thousands of young people who had engaged with the No Hate Speech Movement for their commitment and hard work. She was speaking at the close of the campaign’s evaluation conference.
The very foundation of “a free and open society, where young people have safe spaces to organise themselves, dream and act for a better society and engage as active citizens” had been shattered with the attack on young political activists at Utoja in the summer of 2011, she said. With the attack “came the realisation that the crack in our society, based on inequality and segregation, was much deeper, and more harmful than we had ever realised”, she added.
Anja said that, thanks to the NHSM, an active discussion had been started about the narrative in society on how to combat hate speech, both on and offline. She welcomed the burgeoning initiatives to create safe spaces for discussion and to safeguard human rights online. “Activists all over the world have stepped up their efforts in denouncing fake news, hate speech and excluding narratives.”
Despite these efforts, however, Anja noted the visible worrying trend in young people’s waning belief in democracy as the space for open and free discussion is being shrunk and human rights defenders are being repressed. She assured the NHSM activists that the Advisory Council on Youth would ensure the Campaign’s key values are enshrined in the new strategy for the Council of Europe youth sector, which is currently being designed. In Anja’s view, more human rights education, stronger youth organisations and better youth work practices around Europe are needed to uphold the values of the Council of Europe and to rekindle young people’s belief in democracy.
“The stakes are very high” she said, “progressive results are needed”.
