20 December, 2017

Newsletter N° 66, December 2017

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Eric Miller

4 pm

A time of transition

Dear Subscriber,

This is the final newsletter of the No Hate Speech Movement youth campaign sent by the Youth Department of the Council of Europe in 2017. Since 2013, this newsletter has provided regular updates on actions by national
campaigns and partners, communicated new developments and mobilised for joint action against hate speech and for human rights, as shown again on 10 December. This is a time of transition. Transition of seasons, transition
to a new year and to new commitments.This newsletter marks also a transition in the No Hate Hate Speech Movement campaign. It marks the end of the coordination of the campaign by the Council of Europe in the current
form. But the work continues: hate speech remains a threat to peace and dignity in Europe. The Council of Europe will keep this issue high on its agenda and the Youth for Democracy programme in 2018-2019. Furthermore,
as almost all national campaigns will continue, the European campaign tools and resources of the Council of Europe will remain available for all to use. This transition is the renewal of a commitment in a different
form. The movement continues and will hopefully grow.

We wish you all a festive seasonal break and an inspiring hate free 2018.

News

Taking action on Hate Speech continues in 2018

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While the European coordination by the Youth Department of the Council of Europe will be decreased, national campaigns continue their work in
2018 through human rights education, awareness raising and cooperation with other stakeholders towards a coherent approach to address hate speech. The Council of Europe work on hate speech with member states will be extended through new formats for standard setting, monitoring and capacity building programmes, building on the legacy of the campaign. The Youth for Democracy programme will keep supporting
campaigning and action against hate speech through human rights education, supporting youth participation in Internet governance and working with groups targeted by hate speech and discrimination.

Videos on Counter and Alternative narratives to hate speech

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The EEA-Norway grants launched a five-episodes mini documentary covering the European training course based on We CAN! that took place on Utøya in October.

Action Day Love Human Rights

Videos: Human Rights for young people everyday

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Videos made for the Action day highlight how human rights are important to young people. Campaigners in Ireland launched a video and
series of drawing. Participants of the training course for trainers in human rights education (videos 1, 2 and 3)
and of the Enter! Project (video) contributed their
reflections. Videos were also launched by youth from Kosovo[1] and the Bulgarian Campaign.
The Portuguese campaign adopted a different approach, what happens if your human rights are not respected? Videos and short texts with 5 tips on responding to hate speech were published by the Flemish campaign in Belgium ahead of 10 December. Young people from the Centre Social Papin of Mulhouse, France, launched their photo exhibition and video at a public event on 8 December.

^[1] All reference to Kosovo shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244

Street actions invite to celebrate Human Rights everywhere

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Across Europe people were approached in the wintery weather to join 10 December celebrations and reflect on the meaning of human rights articles. The campaign in Italy handed out scarfs with human right articles in four major cities. The Armenian campaign held two community actions. The Greek campaign
organised a street quiz about human rights in Thessaloniki. In Bulgaria youth held a street action and posted photo messages. Students of the European School in Strasbourg participating in a training course, co-organised with
the city of Strasbourg and the Council of Europe, engaged with visitors of the Christmas market.

Living Library: reflect on Human Rights for everyone

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A Living Library allows young people to challenge their assumptions about others, reflect on their human rights situation and what human rights for everyone
implies. The campaign in Lithuania organised a Living Library in a school and café. A living library and debate were organised by the Slovenian campaign in cooperation with the National Youth Council and the UN Youth delegate.

Workshops on human rights and hate speech

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The French speaking campaign in Belgium organised writing workshop #FreeSpeechOverHateSpeech with young people on 9 December and created a video to highlight the link between fighting against hate speech, protecting freedom of expression and caring about Human Rights
for all, anytime, anywhere. During the training "Echoes of past wars" of the Greek Campaign from 28 November – 6 December, participants from Italy Greece and
Spain made a photo report on the meaning of human rights to them. In “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
on 8 - 10 December, the OHRID Institute for Economic Strategies and International Affairs in cooperation with the OSCE Mission to Skopje, organised the third module of the Leadership Academy devoted to human rights and accessibility to human rights. The campaign in Morocco organised a conference and workshops with students of the faculty of Education on 5 December with the support of the Council of Europe office in Rabat. The European Youth Centre Budapest ran a Human Rights Forum and Fair on 8-9 December.

National Campaigns

Greece: Hate Free Larissa

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Between July and October the city of Larissa, Greece, connected high school students, young activists, artists, experts and citizens to show that hate and discrimination have no place in the public discourse in the city.
Educational activities and organising a joint photo exhibition aimed to raise awareness. Young people also made artistic graffiti interventions in the city to change hate speech street art into love speech and spread the message of no hate.

Upcoming Events

Armenian-Croatian training on counter and alternative narratives

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From 2 to 10 February 2018 a training course on taking actions through counter and alternative narratives based on We CAN! will be co-organised by the Armenian and Croatian campaigns in Daruvar, Croatia.

Evaluation and Closing Conference

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On 10-12 April 2018, the Youth Department will organise the Evaluation and Closing Conference of the European level youth campaign in Strasbourg, France.