DDCP-YD/CHS (2014) 2
Strasbourg, 10 January 2014
Follow-Up Group
Fifth Meeting
European Youth Centre, Strasbourg, 13-14 January 2014
Room 5.1
The Conference
Mobilising, Planning and Networking for Campaigning Effectively with Young
People against Hate Speech Online
Proposals by the conference workshops
(synopsis prepared by the secretariat)
Contents
1.
European Action Days .......................................................................................................................... 2
2.
Hate Speech in Political Discourse and the European Parliament Elections ...................................... 3
3.
Evaluation and impact of the campaign .............................................................................................. 3
4.
Communication, coordination, and networking within the movement ............................................ 4
5.
Education .............................................................................................................................................. 4
6.
National Campaign Strategies.............................................................................................................. 5
7.
Impact and Advocacy for Policy Changes ............................................................................................ 5
8.
Building online communities and ensuring youth participation ........................................................ 6
9.
Preparing the NHSM Youth Meeting ................................................................................................... 7
10.
Fundraising for the campaign and projects ..................................................................................... 7
11.
Working with Internet Businesses and Social Networks ................................................................ 8
12.
Research and Survey (proposal by the secretariat) ......................................................................... 8
1.
European Action Days
Two action weeks:

10 December: Action Week for Human Rights: to highlight the message of the campaign, the
promotion of human rights online.

21 March: Action Week against Racism, Discrimination and Xenophobia.
Three action days:

11 February: Safer Internet Day

8 March: Action Day against Misogyny and Sexism

8 April: Action Day against Antigypsysism and in solidarity with Roma people

17 May: Action Day against Homophobia and Transphobia

20 June: Action Day in support of Refugees and Asylum Seekers

6 July: Action Day against Islamophobia and Intolerance (or 21 September?)

22 July: Action day in solidarity with victims of Hate Crimes

21 September: Action Day for Peace (to be confirmed)

9 November: Action Day against Fascism and Antisemitism
(In italics, action days proposed by other partners and processes).
To work on the preparation and the coordination of a European Action Day, a Task Force should be put
into place that would gather international organisations, representatives of national campaign
committees and online activists. Altogether they should propose specific objectives, results, guidelines
on the type of actions and organization that can be undertaken. The cooperation and support between
the different movements should be furthered to present a stronger message together. The task force
should also support the development of background information and explain the relevance at local level
2
of the day. A call should be sent to youth organisations, activists, campaign committees, partners to
organise events and actions online in relation with the topic of the Action Day or Week.
The national campaign committees (NCCs) should include the EADs in their calendar; discuss a strategy,
calendar and plan; report and ensure visibility for their action days.
A visual identity developed specifically for each day; a press release for the entire movement; the NCCs
should coordinate presence in the media at national level; specific products, such as posters, may also
be made available online.
Decisions needed

List of days and weeks for 2014

Partners to be invited and NCCs to take the lead

Leading people in Follow-up Group and the secretariat for each day.
2.
Hate Speech in Political Discourse and the European Parliament Elections
The upcoming European elections are feared to mark a surge of hate speech in the political discourse.
The election campaign concerns 28 countries; the campaign should not be indifferent to this.
Pilot project: “The Hate Speech Quote of the Day”
The objective is to educate young voters about hate speech and its prevalence in the political discourse.
The NCCs and national partners of the 28 voting countries should gather the worst examples of hate
speech coming from MEP candidates and politicians and put them on Hate Speech Watch; following this,
artists/cartoonists should produce critical and funny visual artwork based on the quotes; experts will
refute the myths, lies, distortions present in these online quotes.
All should be published on the Campaign blog, and then be spread widely into the social networks.
Possible partnership with the Young European Federalists and the League of Young Voters
www.youngvoters.eu. There should be a specific part in the forum of the platform concerning the EU
elections and an EP election tag is also proposed for the Hate Speech Watch to create more visibility.
Decisions needed

Adoption of the project

Inviting partners

Setting up working group for the project
3.
Evaluation and impact of the campaign
The aim of the evaluation is to assess the strengths and capacity of the Campaign in combating hate
speech online and measure its impact, including political and educational levels, and to assess its
sustainability.
NCCs should collect quantitative data such as the number of partners, NGOs, stakeholders, website
statistics or the number of people involved in activities, together with qualitative data.
3
Indicators of success to evaluate if the campaign was successful should be set by NCCs and the FollowUp Group. One person from each NCC should be in charge of the evaluation process that would set
simple ongoing evaluation processes. A common basis with indicators for evaluation should be created
by external evaluators. A proposal for the data collection tool exists, it needs to be finalized and be sent
to all stakeholders.
A seminar/workshop in Spring 2014 should take place to prepare the evaluation; a final evaluation
conference should take place in 2015 involving all stakeholders. Evaluating should be community and
participatory based; young people should be very involved in designing and implementing the
evaluation process. Summative and formative inputs should be included in the evaluation tools .The
online community should also be involved.
Decisions needed

Adoption of the general proposals

Procedure for selecting external evaluator(s)

Resources and dates for the evaluation workshop (12 people, 2 working days).
4.
Communication, coordination, and networking within the movement
NCCs should upload and update information on the platform regarding their national campaign
activities. National volunteers should also liaise with the online community.
Two coordination meetings with national committees should be held in 2014, hopefully hosted by a
member state.
The online activists should meet regularly as well.
A list with the national coordinators and online moderators should be prepared and regularly updated.
European NGOS partnering with the campaign should appoint one person to liaise with the campaign
manager. The Council of Europe should re-send guidelines to the NCCs invite them include NGOs in their
national activities and committees.
Decisions needed

Principle and tentative timetable of 2 NCC meetings

Seminar for activists and moderators

Proposals of incentives and forms of involvement of European NGOs.
5.
Education
Develop guidelines for taking the campaign to the schools: incentives for teachers to get involved: the
school kit should be made available for free to schools; peer educators should be trained at national or
local level; education authorities to be represented in the national committee.
Link to human rights education: the campaign actions should be run in the EDC/HRE Charter framework.
4
Actions: “Bookmarks” should be disseminated and used at national level (translation). The NCCs should
be encouraged to organise national or regional training courses in the field of human rights education.
An online platform to share educational tools and experiences with the campaign in education, including
training materials according to themes, actions, action days, quality criteria and evaluation tools.
Decisions needed

Developing guidelines and curriculum for a pilot course based on Bookmarks

Resources and dates for a pilot course

Adoption of guidelines for translation and dissemination of Bookmarks.
6.
National Campaign Strategies
A National campaign plan and programme should be determined by each NCC and shared with
campaign secretariat.
Management of the NCCs: co-management should be applied in the committees. The Council of Europe
guidelines on the composition of the committee should be recalled to the governmental partners and
campaign coordinators. Other stakeholders should also be invited.
Decisions needed

Procedures for dealing with “complains” about NCCs

Action to be taken in relation to countries without NCC or coordinators

Procedures for inviting or recognizing campaign support groups.
7.
Impact and Advocacy for Policy Changes
The campaign ought to be presented and run from a human rights point of view. The previously
identified policy objectives were supported (see appendix).
We should reduce the incidents of online hate speech by raising awareness among relevant
stakeholders, by building capacity of educational institutions, by having a common understanding of
hate speech and by strengthening the commitment of the Council of Europe member’s states.
The levels of hate speech in the media should be decreased; the involvement of the media should be
strengthened; the NHSM should be in contact with local and national sources of news.
Human rights guidelines should be reviewed for game developers through bottom up participation;
gamers should participate in campaign activities; hate speech in video games should be reviewed and
everyone, especially young people, should join the national internet governance fora.
Proposals for the activities for the campaign programme of 2014:
The programme of activities should identify ways of tackling hate speech, including:

training of teachers and parents

networking of stakeholders
5



provision of support services for victims
revision of the definition of hate speech
production of guidelines for social media
Furthermore, member states that have signed the conventions and charters should be hold
accountable; states that haven’t already signed should be encouraged to do so and monitoring and
reporting mechanisms should be put into place at national levels.
In a second phase, we should train journalists to tackle hate speech and review the Guide on Human
Rights for Internet Users to incorporate it into the campaign and its follow-up.
Decisions needed

Plan of action on the Council of Europe to be developed with internal task force

Give input to the guide on the rights of Internet users

Participation in Internet Governance for a (principle, modalities)

Approach to deal with hate speech in online games

Guidelines to the NCCs about information and possible support to victims of hate speech.
8.
Building online communities and ensuring youth participation
The Campaign glossary should be continuously updated to give explanations on the specific terms used
(such as online citizenship) and be written in a youth friendly way. Following the same principles,
national campaign committees are invited to create their own campaign glossaries.
We should learn about online communities. For this the Council of Europe should do a practical and
usable survey to approach them and learn about their conventions, their leaders and how to motivate
them. We should meet the developers and the companies that produce games that incite hate speech.
Youth participation should be insured in the planning, implementation and evaluation stages of the
campaign. Resources should be made available for young people to help them find answers to hate.
A database with responses to hate, that people (especially young people) can use to tackle hate speech
should be developed. The responses should be written in a “tweetable” way.
We should have celebrity ambassadors to represent the movement. The Council of Europe should
negotiate with Google, Twitter, Youtube for free promotion and advertisements. A social media toolkit
should be created that includes a strategy, tips and tools on social media best practices. A “Steal-it”
package with the campaign materials should be available at national level for anyone to “steal”.
To recognize the role of the online community, there should be a reward system with medals and
diplomas. The communication among activists should be easier, therefore one of the proposals would
be to have a member’s area for them with a google map file where all the activists are pinpointed. By
clicking on one country, you can find each activist from the country listed with his/her contact details.
Decisions needed

Approaches to develop with game developers

Guidelines to respond/react to online hate speech

Approaches to pursue cooperation with social media networks

Implement a reward system for online activists
6
9.
Preparing the NHSM Youth Meeting
The Youth Meeting should be a space to share good practices and to offer a clear recognition for the
efforts made by young people within the campaign. It should be also a space where the different
experiences should be shared among participants and opportunities for practical capacity building for
the young participants should be added.
The event should encourage young people that are facing difficulties to take part actively in the
movement as well as the ones who have been victims of hate speech. The meeting should represent as
well a model-event for online presence and impact.
Recommendations and conclusions should be drawn from the young people’s experiences that need to
be taken into account for having sustainable future steps in the campaign. The European focus of the
campaign should be follow up by specific national and local focus.
Three profile groups of young people should be present: the online youth activists, such as bloggers,
twitter-users, moderators, Facebook page administrators of any youth related popular pages, YouTube
users; targets of hate speech online and victims of cyber-bullying; online gamers;
Decisions needed

Venue and dates for the Youth Meeting (a proposal to host the meeting in Azerbaijan has
been under discussion with the Permanent Representation of Azerbaijan).

Calendar of preparation and composition of the preparatory group.
10. Fundraising for the campaign and projects
The potential donors and contributors at national and international levels need to be identified. A clear
and appealing package should be prepared that gathers needs and demands according to the target
group. The campaign should be presented to potential donors during events such as infodays or dinners.
A declaration on cooperation for national and international levels as a basis for partnership activities
should also be drafted.
A group of ambassadors’ group for the Movement to help to meet donors, to gain political, social and
media support should be set up. This is very important to give visibility and credibility to the campaign.
A communication package to promote the Campaign should be created; in addition to this, a
communication plan must be put into place with a campaign manager and a structure that takes up
funders and delegations at national level; there should be a mapping of all funders and ambassadors.
Decisions needed

Creation of a group of ambassadors

Contacting and contracting of a fund-raiser
7
11. Working with Internet Businesses and Social Networks
The No Hate Speech Watch should be connected with social media platform, the reports should
therefore be sent automatically to the Facebook/Twitter/YouTube platforms. Counter-narratives should
be created and searchable. The Platform should be creative and the online and offline events should be
interrelated and connected together. Education for staying safe online is very important to tackle the
issue of hate speech. A system of peer mentoring should be put into place (Student to Student). Internet
safety should be promoted as a topic on education curricula, with teachers trained in
information/communication/technology.
A hashtag to trigger online counter-narrative campaigns should be created. Everybody should be aware
of the reporting options across each social media platform. Tags/keywords should trigger informational
context. If for example a person uploads a video on a social network, he/she should receive information
stating that the content might be used for hate speech. An online webinar should be created involving
industries and NGOs that would give solutions for minors to report hate speech and how they should
react if they are confronted to hate. These minors then can teach their classmates and act as cyberangels.
Decisions needed

Procedure for development of counter-narratives

Report procedures to be incorporated in the platform

Take full advantage of the offers of Twitter, Youtube and Facebook

Other measures in the education and training section
12. Research and Survey (proposal by the secretariat)
The campaign started with a research project that resulted in the publication “Starting Points to Combat
Hate Speech Online” and in the online survey carried out in 2012.
The need for further research has been highlighted at various instances including in several of the
conference workshops. Research is also instrumental to the evaluation and follow-up of the campaign.
The need for a more comprehensive survey has also been expressed several times, especially now that
there are relays for the campaign in the majority of member states. The survey should be carried out in
the first semester. The secretariat, based on the results of previous activities and consultations proposes
the following:
- Setting up of an informal group of researchers “friends” of the campaign
- Identification of 2-3 projects of possible interest to research
- Preparation and implementation of a new survey about young people, hate speech and online
citizenship.
Decisions needed

Creation and composition of the group of researchers

Calendar for the group’s meetings

Decision and guidelines on an online survey.
8
Appendix
Strategic objectives and expected results
Draft document by the secretariat of the Youth Department
The campaign aims to combat racism and discrimination in their online expression of hate speech by
equipping young people and youth organisations with the competences necessary to recognise and act
against such human rights violations.
Within this framework, the campaign cuts across the programmes and priorities of the Council o Europe
youth policy as adopted by the Joint Council, including: Human Rights Education and Youth Participation,
Roma Youth Action Plan, Intercultural Dialogue; Fighting discrimination and inclusion of vulnerable
groups, Youth policy development, Recognition of youth work and non-formal education.
It also addresses various other policy areas of the Council of Europe in the Human Rights, Democracy
and Rule of Law pillars.
Its objectives and expected results should therefore concern the whole organization as well.
The various sectors of the Council of Europe active in and responsible for work in these areas are
involved in the campaign preparations.
The campaign is currently being prepared in 36 countries and is expected to run (at European level)
through to December 2014 (at the earliest). Evaluation and follow-up measures will be implemented in
2015.1
The campaign conference (7-9 November) will be the opportunity to review and agree on common
strategic objectives of relevance to the European and national levels. Each national campaign may adopt
a specific thematic focus and corresponding objectives.
The preparatory work done so far points towards the following objectives and expected results:
1. Human rights; combating racism, discrimination and intolerance
1.1. Ratification by member states of the Additional Protocol Additional Protocol to the Convention
on Cybercrime (concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature
committed through computer systems).
1.2. Preparation of an ECRI General Recommendation on combating hate speech online (and cyber
hate)
1.3. Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member states on addressing hate speech
online, focusing on national monitoring mechanisms and educational strategies
1.4. Charter or “code of conduct” to be agreed or endorsed by social media networks and service
providers
1
States parties to the European Cultural Convention not yet known to be taking part: Albania, Andorra, Denmark,
Estonia, Germany, Holy See, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, San Marino,
United Kingdom.
9
1.5. Council of Europe “Hate Speech Watch”, as an online database to report, discuss and monitor
hate speech, particularly in political and public discourse (online and offline)
2. Citizenship and human rights education
2.1. Inclusion of media education and Internet literacy in programmes and strategies for EDC/HRE in
formal and non-formal education (possible update of the Charter on Education for Democratic
Citizenship and Human Rights Education)
2.2. Support to online and off-line educational resources against hate speech online, including
cyberbullying
2.3. Development of online youth work and non-formal education, including a virtual (European)
youth centre
2.4. Information and education about how human rights and democracy apply to the ways that
Internet is governed and organized
2.5. Inclusion of training modules on digital competence related to democracy online for teachers
and youth leaders
2.6. Adoption of 22 July as European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Hate Crimes (and related
activities)
3. Youth participation and Internet Governance
3.1. Consultation and inclusion of youth representatives in Internet governance projects
3.2. Internet governance issues to be placed in the youth policy agenda(s)
4. Freedom of expression, safety online
4.1. Guidelines for warnings of hate speech and offensive content in computer games
4.2. Development of online games and human rights-friendly gaming communities
4.3. Development of children and youth-friendly policies on content, privacy and reporting of
harmful content by major social networks
4.4. Dissemination and updating of the Human rights guidelines for online games providers,
together with stakeholders of the gaming industry.
4.5. Development of “Trusted site” standards with national stakeholders and Internet businesses.
______________
These objectives were discussed and supported by the Campaign Conference (7-9 November 2013).
Internally, they would deserve being discussed with the various sectors of the organization concerned by
and involved in the campaign before the conference.
Coordination in view of their implementation should be secured for 2014 and 2015.
10