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- Herausgeber: Council of Europe
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020
This revised edition of Bookmarks reflects the end of the coordination of the youth campaign by the Council Europe. The campaign may be officially over, but the education and awareness-raising to counter hate speech and promote human rights values remain an urgent task for young people of all ages.
The work of the Council of Europe for democracy is strongly based on education: education in schools, and education as a lifelong learning process of practising democracy, such as in non-formal learning activities. Human rights education and education for democratic citizenship form an integral part of what we have to secure to make democracy sustainable. Hate speech is one of the most worrying forms of racism and discrimination prevailing across Europe and amplified by the Internet and social media. Hate speech online is the visible tip of the iceberg of intolerance and ethnocentrism. Young people are directly concerned as agents and victims of online abuse of human rights; Europe needs young people to care and look after human rights, the life insurance for democracy.
Bookmarks was originally published to support the No Hate Speech Movement youth campaign of the Council of Europe for human rights online. Bookmarks is useful for educators wanting to address hate speech online from a human rights perspective, both inside and outside the formal education system. The manual is designed for working with learners aged 13 to 18 but the activities can be adapted to other age ranges.
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BOOKMARKS
A MANUAL FOR Combating hate speech onlinethrough human rights education
Revised edition (2020)
Written and edited by
Ellie Keen, Mara Georgescu
With contributions to the second edition from
Olena Chernykh, Anca-Ruxandra Pandea and Satu Valtere
Bookmarks - A manual for combating hate speech online through human rights education
Revised edition, 2020
The views expressed in this manual do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Council of Europe.
Copyright of this publication is held by the Council of Europe. No parts of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes in any form or by any means, electronic (CDRom, Internet, etc.) or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the Publishing Division ([email protected]), Directorate of Communication of the Council of Europe.
Reproduction of material from this publication is authorised for non-commercial education purposes only and on condition that the source is properly quoted.
All other correspondence concerning this document should be addressed to the Youth Department of the Council of Europe:
European Youth Centre Strasbourg
30, rue Pierre de Coubertin
F- 67075 Strasbourg Cedex – France
Email: [email protected]
Credits for photo on the cover:
•Council of Europe / No Hate Speech Movement
Proofreading: Rachel Appleby
Layout and design: Horváth Dániel – danielhorvath.com
Printed in Hungary
Paper ISBN 978-92-871-9017-8
© Council of Europe, 2020Facebook.com/CouncilOfEuropePublications
PREFACE
The manual Bookmarks you have in your hands is a precious tool to stop hate speech and strengthen human rights. You may ask: “Why should we bother? Don’t people have the right to express themselves freely in a democratic society?” It is true that freedom of expression is a fundamental human right that applies also to ideas that may offend, shock or disturb people. But exercising this right carries clear duties and responsibilities. Hate speech is not “protected” speech; words of hate can lead to real-life crimes of hate, and such crimes have already ruined and taken the lives of too many people.
Hate speech has become one of the most common forms of intolerance and xenophobia in Europe today. Of particular concern is the increasing presence of hate speech in political discourse and how it has become commonplace in the public sphere, in particular via the Internet. When the unacceptable starts to be accepted, becomes “the norm”, there is a true threat to human rights. The No Hate Speech Movement of the Council of Europe was launched to reduce the acceptance of hate speech online and put an end to its “normalisation”.
No one would deny that the Internet provides us with remarkable new tools for communication, solidarity, organising social change and entertainment. And yet we must not let it be misused as an instrument of online torture and propaganda for the industries and ideologies of hate. Freedom of expression online must also mean freedom from fear online.
The Council of Europe has been a pioneer in defining hate speech and in calling for the condemnation of racism and xenophobia on the Internet. Legal measures are very important, but they are not enough. Education is the only long-term solution: to prevent hate speech, to denounce hate speech and to promote solidarity with the victims.
Learning about, through and for human rights is essential in maintaining an active climate of human rights in the face of the rapid changes which our societies are facing today. This is especially relevant to children and young people, and nowadays should certainly be an integral part of education about media and Internet literacy.
The No Hate Speech Movement campaign of the Council of Europe is carried out by young people themselves: they called for its creation and are deciding how it is run. This is important because it is also young people who are among the most regular victims of human rights abuse online through various forms of hate speech and bullying.
I hope this guide finds its way into schools, youth centres and youth organisations – and onto the Internet too. I encourage students, educators and others to use it freely and to join in with the campaign. Let us use Bookmarks to make a stand against hate speech.
Thorbjørn JaglandSecretary General of the Council of Europe
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to all those who contributed to this manual, with their suggestions and feedback, in particular:
•The members of the Follow-up Group of the No Hate Speech Movement campaign, chiefly the representatives of the Advisory Council on Youth and of the European Steering Committee on Youth, and the observers representing the European Steering Committee on Educational Policy and Practice, the European Youth Information and Counselling Agency, the European Youth Forum, the European Youth Card Association, the EEA Norway Grants and the online activists.
•Claudia Lenz (The European Wergeland Centre), Anni Siltanen (Insafe) and Vitor Tomé (consultant).
•Anne Weber (Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights), Gordana Berjan (Children’s Programme), Lee Hibbard, Elvana Thaci and James Lawson (Internet Governance Unit); Paula Eck-Walters (Secretariat of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance); Josef Huber, Yulia Pererva (Education Department); Anca-Ruxandra Pandea, Menno Ettema, Aileen Donegan, Claire Uszynski and Maud Hoffman Boivin (Youth Department), all at the Council of Europe.
We have made all possible efforts to trace references of texts and activities to their authors and give them the necessary credits. We apologise for any omissions and will be pleased to correct them in the next edition.
Table of contents
CHAPTER 1 – About the manual
1.1 Introduction to the manual
1.2 The problem of hate speech online
CHAPTER 2 – No Hate Speech Movement
2.1 About the campaign
2.2 The campaign results
2.3 The campaign tools
2.4 Follow-up to the campaign by the Council of Europe
2.5 What can young people do?
CHAPTER 3 – Using the manual
3.1 The need for the manual
3.2 Structure of the manual
3.3 Running the activities
3.4 Ten Do’s and Don’ts
3.5 Themes and questions
CHAPTER 4 – 24 activities
Synoptic table of activities
24 activities for combating hate speech online through human rights education
CHAPTER 5 – background information
5.1 Hate speech online
5.2 Human rights
5.3 Freedom of expression
5.4 Racism and discrimination
5.5 Private life and safety
5.6 Democracy and participation
5.7 Campaigning strategies
5.8 Internet literacy
5.9 Cyberbullying
5.10 The Council of Europe and hate speech online
CHAPTER 6 – APPENDICES
6.1 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
6.2 The European Convention on Human Rights and its protocols
6.3 Other resources on tackling hate speech online
6.4 Guide to Human Rights for Internet Users
6.5 Proposals of workshops based on Bookmarks
Chapter 1
About the manual
1.1 Introduction to the manual
‘Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me’
Do you agree?
This manual has been designed to support the No Hate Speech Movement, the Council of Europe’s youth Campaign against hate speech online, and will be useful for educators working to address this problem, both inside and outside the formal education system. The manual is designed for working with young people aged 13 to 18; however, activities can be adapted to other age ranges and other profiles of learners.
Bookmarks was first published in 2014 and has already been translated into 18 languages. In the 2016 edition, the manual was updated to include the Council of Europe Guide to Human Rights for Internet Users.
The Council of Europe coordination of the No Hate Speech Movement campaign has ended in 2018. Several national campaigns remained active. The current (2020) revision includes updated information about how the work started in the youth campaign is carried forward by the Council of Europe and its partners active against hate speech.
The need for educational initiatives which target cyberhate can partly be seen in the growing amount of abuse to be found on the Internet, much of which is extreme and racist in tone and can threaten the fundamental values of a democratic society. However, cyberhate is not just a problem related to racism and discrimination; it is also a problem related to the way that people use the Internet. This makes it a relatively new phenomenon, and one which is not fully recognised or understood. The ‘novelty’ of online hate speech means that this is a problem that the world does not yet quite know how to deal with.
Many existing attempts to combat cyberhate tend to focus on controlling mechanisms: cutting out the hate when it appears. The approach in these pages views hate speech as a symptom of a deeper problem. The activities have been designed to address the underlying causes of hate speech as well as learning how to deal with it when it occurs.
Hate speech online represents the leaves of a particularly malicious plant, whose roots lie deep in society. Pruning the leaves cannot address the wider causes of the problem.
A human rights approach
The activities in the manual should help young people in developing the knowledge, skills and attitudes which will be needed if the Internet is to reflect the fundamental principles which have been established for the real world. Those principles were drawn up and agreed on over 60 years ago: they are known as human rights, and they reflect the basic dignity of every human being, their equality in rights, their freedom, and their role in deciding and establishing the rules which should govern our daily existence.
Like the youth Campaign, this manual sees hate speech as a human rights concern and the approach used in the activities is based on human rights principles and standards. This makes the manual useful not only in addressing online hate speech but also as a way of understanding human rights themselves and the way they apply both in offline as well as online settings. You can find more information on the educational approach in Chapter 3, and some basic information about human rights online and offline in Chapter 5.
Democracy and citizenship … online
The manual is based on the firm belief that online space is public space, and hence, all principles of a democratic society can and should apply online. In this context, the role of young people online is extremely important in combating hate speech.
Young people are citizens online, which means they can express their aspirations and concerns online, take action, and hold accountable those who violate human rights online. What’s more, they can be human rights defenders online.
The online space is also a space for participation, including the awareness about Internet governance processes. The manual explores, through activities, ways of interaction online, how young people can take action online and how they can campaign online for a better and safer Internet.
Background themes related to democracy, online campaigning and Internet literacy are included in Chapter 5.
1.2 The problem of hate speech online
New possibilities, new dangers
Do you know what’s out there?
See page 151 for some examples. Or do an online search yourself.
The possibilities for human interaction have exploded with the coming of the Internet. The Internet has given us the possibility, in theory, to communicate with almost any other person in the world; it has even made it possible, in theory, for one thought in a back room in a small and unknown corner of the world to be picked up by every other person! Everyone with access to the Internet is now both publisher and public speaker. Few, it seems, can interfere with what we want to say.
Who’s checking!?
Is it easier to speak our darkest thoughts online?
This is a novelty that few would want reversed, but it should not surprise us that the ever-expanding world of online interaction has also come to reflect and feed back into many of the difficulties that human beings have historically encountered in their ‘real’ existence. Intolerance and ‘hate’ have been a feature of human society almost since time began. A number of studies have seen an increase in these attitudes over recent years.
The problem is that if there is less tolerance of difference, and if the constraints on that intolerance are not watched, then intolerance – and hate – will find expression, both in the things that people do and in the things they say. The Internet has opened up new ways of saying things, and it has opened up new avenues to say them to more people. The constraints, however, on what we can say online are far fewer than those which exist offline: we can say things over the Internet that we would not dare to say in public in the ‘real’ world.
If hate speech offline is a problem that societies have recognised, and found the need to address, is online hate speech something that we can ignore?
Which is worse…?
Spoken at a public meeting
“If you’re gay – get a cure. Then join the human race.”
Posted on an Internet forum
“If you’re gay – get a cure. Then join the human race.”
The extent of the problem
“I will rape you tomorrow at 9pm. Shall we meet near your house????”1
“We dont want you here, stay in your own country and destroy it, not ours!!!”2
“You’re a silly ****. Your mother’s a wog and your dad is a rapist”3
Monitoring the amount of hate speech online is notoriously difficult. In fact, it is precisely this difficulty which makes it so easy for those who want to spread hate to do so online, and makes it so difficult for governments, or others, to control. A few organisations have attempted to track the extent of the problem. All of them have found that online hate appears to be increasing.
The extent of the problem
•In 2019, Facebook announced the removal of 7 million instances of hate speech in the third quarter only. This has been done in 80% of the cases with the support of artificial intelligence. 4
•73% of women experienced online abuse, including hate speech and only 50% of the women respondents of a 2014 BBC survey agreed with the statement “The internet is a safe space to express my opinions”. 5
Other studies have tried to investigate the extent to which young people are encountering hate in their online activities.
Young people and online hate
•Across Europe, 6% of 9 to 16-year-old Internet users reported having been bullied online, and 3% confessed to having bullied others.6
•16% of young Internet users in Canada say they have posted comments on the Internet that were hateful towards a person or group of people.7
•78% of the respondents of an online survey stated they had encountered hate speech online on a regular basis. The three most recurrent targets of hate speech were: LGBT people (70%), Muslims (60%) and women.8
Endnotes
1 Tweet to Stella McCreasy (UK Member of Parliament)
2 From the Facebook page ‘Bugger off Asylum Seekers’
3 Tweet sent out when a footballer – Fabrice Muamba originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo – suffered a cardiac arrest during a football match.
4 Billy Perigo, Facebook Says It’s Removing More Hate Speech Than Ever Before. But There’s a Catch, Time (27 November 2019), https://time.com/5739688/facebook-hate-speech-languages/
5 Cyberviolence against Women and Girls - A World-wide Wake Up Call, A report by the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development Working Group on Broadband and Gender, 2015, https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/genderreport2015final.pdf
6 From a survey by EU KidsOnline: www2.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/EU%20Kids%20II%20(2009-11)/EUKidsOnlineIIReports/Final%20report.pdf
7 From Valerie Stevens, Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III: Encountering Racist and Sexist Content Online, Media Smarts, Ottawa, 2014. This is a national school-based survey of 5,436 children and youth in Grades 4 to 11 realised in 2013, available at https://mediasmarts.ca/research-policy/young-canadians-wired-world-phase-iii/young-canadians-wired-world-phase-iii-encountering-racist-sexist-content-online
8 Council of Europe online survey in view of the No Hate Speech Movement, 2015, https://rm.coe.int/questions-and-lessons-learned-hate-speech-2015-online-survey/pdfa/16808b5f64
Chapter 2
No Hate Speech Movement
The Council of Europe Youth Campaign for Human Rights Online
“Hate speech, as defined by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, covers all forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify racial hatred, xenophobia, antisemitism or other forms of hatred based on intolerance, including: intolerance expressed by aggressive nationalism and ethnocentrism, discrimination and hostility against minorities, and migrants and people of immigrant origin. For the purpose of the campaign, other forms of discrimination and prejudice, such as antigypsyism, christianphobia, islamophobia, misogyny, sexism and discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity fall clearly within the scope of hate speech.”
Definition of hate speech used in the campaign – www.nohatespeechmovement.org
2.1 About the campaign
The Council of Europe’s youth campaign against online hate speech ran from March 2013 to the end of 2017. This youth-led campaign mobilised young people to raise awareness of the problem of hate speech online, change attitudes towards it and call for action to curb and stop it. The No Hate Speech Movement youth campaign was part of the Council of Europe’s wider efforts to promote human rights online and engage young people in promoting the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
The Council of Europe views hate speech as a threat to democracy and human rights. The No Hate Speech Movement had human rights at its core but it went beyond using legal mechanisms to combat cyberhate The Campaign fostered respect for freedom of expression and valuing alternative responses to hate speech, including prevention, education, awareness raising, the development of self-regulation by users and encouraging support for victims.
2.2 The campaign results
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe acknowledged that the Campaign was “the first broad international initiative to tackle hate speech and to address it as a major human rights issue”. The campaign played a major role in:
a) raising awareness of young people and of society as a whole of the extent and risk of hate speech;
b) equipping thousands of educators, youth workers and youth leaders with the competences they need to empower young people, through human rights education, to recognise, report and react to hate speech;
c) mobilising youth organisations and young people across Europe and beyond to take a stand and fight against hate speech online;
d) organising activities in solidarity with specific targets of hate speech and drawing attention to under-estimated or under-reported manifestations of hate speech;
e) creating counter and alternative narratives to hate speech and creating positive forms of engagement and identity for young people across national, cultural, social, religious, ethnic or organisational boundaries;
f) re-assessing the importance of media and information literacy in formal and non-formal education;
g) understanding internet governance as an area for the exercise of citizenship and youth participation.
(Declaration by the Committee of Ministers on the legacy of the No Hate Speech Movement youth campaign adopted on 29 May 2019)1 The campaign was instrumental in bringing key stakeholders from the youth sector and beyond, a key role being played by youth organisations and young online activists. Tools, both online and offline, were specifically developed for and within the framework of the campaign.
To learn more about the results and evaluation of the campaign: https://www.coe.int/en/web/no-hate-campaign/reports-of-seminars-and-conferences
2.3 The campaign tools
The www.nohatespeechmovement.org site remains the main entry point for current information on Council of Europe work addressing hate speech, as well as to results of the youth Campaign and its archives.
National Campaigns
The Campaign was promoted by the Council of Europe and its European partners and implemented by national campaign committees in the member states. In total 46 campaigns took place in 45 countries. Some of them are still active. You can find their contacts here:
https://www.coe.int/en/web/no-hate-campaign/national-campaigns1
Compendium of Resources
It presents over 270 resources developed by National Campaigns, partners and the Council of Europe.
https://www.coe.int/en/web/no-hate-campaign/compendium-of-resources
Educational tools
Bookmarks was specifically designed to support the campaign, addressing the topic of hate speech online through human rights education. It was designed for use with young people between 13-18 in a school setting, but can easily be adapted. It was translated in more than 18 languages.
https://www.coe.int/en/web/no-hate-campaign/bookmarks-connexions
We CAN! Taking action against hate speech through counter and alternative narratives
This manual presents communicative and educational approaches and tools for youth and other human rights activists to develop their own counter and alternative narratives to hate speech.
https://www.coe.int/en/web/no-hate-campaign/we-can-alternatives1
Guide to Human Rights for Internet Users
The Guide is a tool for Internet users to learn about human rights online, their possible limitations, and available remedies for such limitations. The Guide provides information about what rights and freedoms mean in practice in the context of the Internet, how they can be relied and acted upon, as well as how to access remedies. The Guide is accessible at: www.coe.int/en/web/internet-users-rights/guide
Reporting hate speech
This section provides information on how to report hate speech to major social media platforms and national authorities or NGOs in different countries.
https://www.coe.int/en/web/no-hate-campaign/reporting-hate-speech
The Blog, Hate Speech Watch and Platform were deactivated but can still be consulted online at https://www.coe.int/en/web/no-hate-campaign/previous-blog-and-platform
The social media channels of the campaign are still active and can be followed for updates on the work of the Council of Europe: https://www.coe.int/en/web/no-hate-campaign/social-medias
2.4 Follow-up to the campaign by the Council of Europe
The coordination of the No Hate Speech Movement by the Council of Europe Youth Department was scaled down in April 2018. National campaigns, online activists and partner organisations have continued the movement through human rights education and awareness-raising initiatives. Various institutions of the Council of Europe, such as the Parliamentary Assembly and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance carry one the work against hate speech.
Declaration of the Committee of Ministers
In 2018 the Joint Council on Youth reviewed the results of the campaign and addressed them to the Committee of Ministers, with suggestions for the further action. In May 2019, the Committee of Ministers adopted a Declaration on the campaign which envisaged the following measures in its Declaration:
[The Committee of Ministers]
1. decides to follow up the campaign, underlining the role of ECRI and the special responsibility of the Council of Europe’s youth, human rights, anti-discrimination, education and media structures;
2. agrees that this follow-up could involve, amongst others:
– strengthening education for democratic citizenship and human rights education, notably in the programme of the European Youth Centres and European Youth Foundation;
– updating and developing new projects on media and information literacy, especially through non-formal and informal education;
– supporting the full involvement of young people in internet governance processes;
– supporting European and national youth networks and activities stemming from the campaign;
– ensuring that adequate and comprehensive policies are in place to support effective responses to hate speech;
– ensuring that impact assessment of the tools of the campaign is included in the follow-up projects. 2
Youth for Democracy
The Youth for Democracy programme continues the legacy of the youth campaign, notably through human rights education, youth participation in Internet governance and combating discrimination affecting vulnerable groups of young people (including hate speech). Several study sessions at the European Youth Centre resulted, inter alia, in the setting up of No Hate Speech Network. The Youth Department also continues supporting the translation of the main campaign educational resources and includes combating hate speech in a variety of European and national training activities.
Anti-Discrimination Department
The Anti-Discrimination Department supports Council of Europe member states in combating discrimination, hate crime and hate speech through setting policy standards, monitoring and capacity building. Its cooperation activities on hate speech build on the campaign legacy and seek cooperation with the national campaigns and partners.
A summary of the various sectors of the Council of Europe working to combat hate speech and strengthen human rights online is found at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/no-hate-campaign/coe-work-on-hate-speech
2.5 What can young people do?
The work on combatting and addressing hate speech online and offline with young people remains as important regardless of the campaign closing at European level. There are many ways in which young people can take action against hate speech and for human rights. Some of the suggestions are included in the ‘Ideas for Action’ at the end of the activities in this manual, others can be found in the sub-chapter Campaigning strategies and in the Compendium of resources.
1https://search.coe.int/cm/pages/result_details.aspx?objectid=090000168094b576
2 Declaration by the Committee of Ministers on the legacy of the No Hate Speech Movement youth campaign adopted - 29 May 2019.
Chapter 3
Using the manual
This chapter contains a brief outline of the manual’s overall structure, aims and methodology. It should help with understanding the educational approach and with planning and conducting activities with your group.
3.1 The need for the manual
Hate speech is an attack on those who are often already vulnerable, and it sows the seeds for tension, further inequality and often violence. The Council of Europe views hate speech as a threat to democracy and human rights.
The No Hate Speech Movement campaign recognised that efforts to address the problem need to include work at a number of different levels. The problem and the solutions are not always straightforward. This manual has been designed to support the educational work that will enable young people to find their own ways of addressing and coping with hate speech online. It aims to develop the understanding, skills and motivation that they will need in order to play an active role in shaping an Internet which pays due respect to human rights and democratic participation principles.
Young people are not only ‘bystanders’ to hate speech online: many are already victims, and some have been drawn into victimising. Educational initiatives need to take this into account and need to address young people in all three roles. With this in mind, the activities in this manual have been designed to address seven key objectives.
The manual’s objectives
•To enable actors in formal and non-formal education contexts to address hate speech with young people and support school communities to make use of the experience and resources of the No Hate Speech Movement campaign
•To develop the skills and motivation for young people to recognise online hate speech and to become activists for human rights online and offline
•To raise awareness of human rights principles and promote a vision of the Internet which reflects these principles
•To support human rights education through non-formal learning approaches and develop critical spirit among children and young people
•To empower those who are already victims of online hate speech, or who are likely to become victims
•To encourage empathy for groups or individuals who may be targets of hate speech online
•To break down myths and prejudice about some of the most common targets of hate speech.
The manual’s educational approach
This manual uses the educational approaches of human rights education. The Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education (2010) defines human rights education as:
“education, training, awareness raising, information, practices and activities which aim, by equipping learners with knowledge, skills and understanding and developing their attitudes and behaviours, to empower learners to contribute to the building and defence of a universal culture of human rights in society, with a view to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Human rights education involves three dimensions:
•Learning about human rights, knowledge about human rights, what they are, how they are safeguarded and protected, and how they apply offline and online.
•Learning through human rights, recognising that the context and the way human rights learning is organised and imparted has to be consistent with human rights values (e.g. participation, freedom of thought and expression, etc.) and that in human rights education the process is as important as the content of the learning
•Learning for human rights, by developing skills, attitudes and values for the learners to apply human rights values in their lives and to take action, alone or with others, for promoting and defending human rights.
Compass, the Council of Europe manual for human rights education with young people, offers more information about human rights education that can support facilitators in understanding its approaches and practices. Learn more: www.coe.int/compass
3.2 Structure of the manual
Introductory Chapters
This chapter, and the two preceding chapters, are important in setting the context for the activities. It is recommended that you familiarise yourself with the contents in order to understand the context for the manual and the Campaign.
Much of the material in Chapter 1 is also explored more fully in Section 5.1, Hate Speech Online. The information presented in this section will give you a good idea of the range of issues relating to hate speech online, and an understanding of the urgency of working to address it.
Chapter 2 offers a brief overview of the Council of Europe’s No Hate Speech Campaign (2013-2017) and the ways the institution continues addressing hate speech.
Underlying themes
The manual has been built around eight themes of direct relevance to hate speech online. The themes themselves, and some of the underlying issues they address, are laid out in the diagram on page 20. The questions are not exhaustive: they only pick out some of the more important issues falling under each theme.
Most of the activities address issues relating to a number of different themes, each of which is an important area in itself. For this reason, many of the activities will also be useful in supporting more general work on anti-racism, Internet literacy, citizenship education, human rights education, and other areas.
The activities
The main body of the manual consists of 24 activities, each of which has been designed to address one or more of the themes. Activities have also been classified according to ‘level of complexity’: a level 4 activity assumes some pre-existing experience or knowledge of the area; a level 1 activity can be run with groups who are new to the topic.
You can use the table of activities on page 22 to identify appropriate activities according to theme, time required, and level of complexity. Although it is not expected that many educators will have the opportunity, or need, to run all the activities, the importance of the interrelated themes means that all the activities can be used not only to address hate speech but also to support work across a number of other concerns.
Each activity also contains a section consisting of ‘Ideas for Action’. These are an important way of consolidating the knowledge and skills acquired in the activities, and they will help young people to take action.
The background texts
The background texts in Chapter 5 have been designed to support the activities. Sections 5.1 and 5.2, dealing with hate speech online and human rights online and offline, are of central importance to all the activities. Other texts can be referred to as needed, and as indicated by specific activities.
3.3 Running the activities
Further support and recommendations on running human rights activities can be found in Chapter 1 of Compass. www.coe.int/compass
The instructions for the activities are relatively detailed and contain additional advice in the ‘tips for facilitators’. These tips also warn of potential difficulties, so it is important to look at them beforehand.
The following section contains general recommendations for getting the best out of the activities, and a brief outline of the educational approach used in the manual. Refer to the list of ‘Dos and Don’ts’ at the end for a quick checklist of things to bear in mind.
The role of facilitator
The activities use the term ‘facilitator’ to refer to the person running the activities. A facilitator is someone who ‘makes something happen’, who supports and encourages others to learn and develop their own potential. Effective facilitation is the key to human rights education, and the key to giving life to these activities.
Do not feel you need to be an ‘expert’ in order to work on the issues: good facilitation does not require any particular knowledge or expertise, except perhaps an ‘expertise’ in understanding and relating to young people. The activities in this manual will be most successful in an environment where your group is encouraged to explore and find their own approach to issues which are complicated, and often controversial. There is no harm in letting them know that you are exploring together with them! The direct participation of learners in the education processes increases the impact and quality of learning and is inherent to learning through human rights. The facilitator, therefore, does not have to be the expert in all matters but should be able to help learners find information and form their own answers and opinions.
Creating a safe environment
Many of the activities and the issues raised in the manual may touch some of your participants directly. Some participants may have been the victims of bullying or cyberbullying, perhaps even by others in the group; some may have been targeted by racist abuse or discriminatory behaviour. It is very important that you are sensitive to these possibilities and that you let participants know that there is support available if needed. Make sure that you are able to offer that support, or able to point them in the direction of someone else who can help. The InSafe and the InHope networks (https://www.betterinternetforkids.eu) provide useful contacts and helplines to report abuse online in many countries. Many member states have their own specific services to support and receive complaints. Facilitators are advised to inform themselves and, where relevant, to invite these services to support their educational activities.
As far as possible, participants need to feel ‘safe’ discussing the issues. You could set some base rules with the group, for example, agreeing to respect the opinions of others and to avoid any form of abuse, mockery or personal criticism.
3.4 Ten Do’s and Don’ts
1
Do encourage participants to voice their opinions and ideas, and speak from their own experiences.
Don’t condemn any suggestions as ‘useless’, ‘irrelevant’ or ‘stupid’!
2
Do try to develop a culture of mutual respect, a safe environment where everyone feels comfortable about expressing their opinion.
Don’t allow the group to exclude, ignore, pre-judge, or disrespect anyone else: try to establish some basic principles from the outset.
3
Do encourage discussion and questioning: they will learn by expressing their doubts or uncertainty.
Don’t try to give lengthy presentations: that will only turn participants off!
4
Do make links with the reality of the participants and with real issues in their environment.
Don’t hand out generalisations which they can’t relate to.
5
Do abandon dogma! Allow to question ‘established truths’, and do so yourself.
Don’t ‘preach’, or use your position to close an argument.
6
Do be honest with participants. They will respect you more and will be more likely to open up themselves.
Don’t pretend to know if you aren’t sure! Tell them you will find out, or encourage them to do so.
7
Do trust participants. They need to find the answers for themselves.
Don’t talk down to them, and don’t try to lead them where they won’t be led.
8
Do take their suggestions seriously: they will be more likely to become involved if they feel ownership.
Don’t feel you need to stick rigidly to what was planned: follow their interests if they prefer to move in another direction.
9
Do appeal to their human sympathies. Ask them how they feel, or how they would feel if …
Don’t give up if their opinions seem unkind or thoughtless. Show them another perspective.
10
Do treat participants as equals – equal to each other, and ‘equal’ to you. You are all only human!
Don’t exclude participants or make assumptions about what they can or can’t do. Humans can be unpredictable!
3.5 Themes and questions
Chapter 4
24 activities
for combating hate speech online through human rights education
A Day in Court
A New mosque in Sleepyville
Action and campaigning step by step
Changing the game
Checking the facts
Clash of freedoms
Confronting cyberbullying
Freedom unlimited?
Group X
Human rights online quiz
Online participation
Our rights online
Play it again
Race for rights!
Reading the rules
Roots and branches
Saying it worse
Talking it out
The stories they tell
Understanding hate speech
Virtual action
Wear and share
Web attack
Web profiles
Synoptic table of activities
Title
Themes
Overview
Level
Time (in min)
A day in court
Freedom of Expression
Human Rights
Racism and Discrimination
Participants play out a mini-trial, looking at a real case that came before the European Court of Human Rights
4
120
A new mosque in Sleepyville
Democracy and Participation
Racism and Discrimination
Internet Literacy
This is a simulation of an online consultation/debate. The issue under discussion is the building of a new mosque in a traditionally Christian area.
4
Up to 3 hours, or 3 sessions of 50 minutes each
Action and campaigning step by step
Racism and Discrimination
Campaigning Strategies
Human Rights
This is a series of 4 activities leading to an action against hate speech and hate crime. The different parts can be run separately and can also be used in combination with other activities in the manual.
4
3 sessions of 90 minutes, 60 minutes and 45 minutes for Parts 1, 2 and 3. Time is also needed for the campaigning action.
Changing the game
Racism and Discrimination
Internet Literacy
Campaigning Strategies
Democracy and Participation
Participants are introduced to the campaign and devise a ‘mini-campaign’ against sexism in online gaming.
3
60
Checking the facts
Internet Literacy
Racism and Discrimination
Campaigning Strategies
Participants are asked to act as ‘researchers’ for politicians on the issue of homophobic abuse. They consider the reliability of information posted online and develop strategies for their own practice.
4
60
Clash of freedoms
Democracy and Participation
Freedom of Expression
Racism and Discrimination
The activity is a simulation involving two communities with opposing views on freedom of expression, but forced to live together on the same island.
4
120
Confronting cyberbullying
Cyberbullying
Democracy and Participation
Internet Literacy
This is an activity in which participants identify their likely response to various bullying scenarios – and discuss alternative courses of action.
1
45
Freedom unlimited?
Freedom of Expression
Democracy and Participation
Human Rights
Participants explore the idea of freedom of expression using a number of case studies. They need to decide what to do with comments or communications which are controversial, abusive or potentially dangerous.
2
45
Group X
Racism and Discrimination
Human Rights
Private Life and Safety
Participants map rights from the European Convention on Human Rights against a series of abuses commonly experienced by young Roma.
4
60
Human rights online quiz
Human Rights
This activity is a quiz about human rights online. It helps participants to get to know their rights online by using the Guide to Human Rights for Internet Users.
3
60
Online participation
Internet Literacy
Private Life and Safety
Human Rights
Participants think about how they use the Internet and how they participate online. They identify and rate their level of online participation and plan what kind of role they would like to have online in the future.
3
45
Our rights online
Human Rights
Democracy and Participation
Participants learn more about the Guide to Human Rights for Internet Users. They analyse key messages and statements of the Guide and reflect on its application in daily life.
2
60
Play it again
Cyberbullying
Democracy and Participation
Racism and Discrimination
This activity is based on a role play: someone is drawn into an act of bullying because of peer pressure. Participants are asked to replay the scenario in order to achieve a different outcome.
2
60
Race for rights!
Human Rights
Racism and Discrimination
Private Life and Safety
The activity provides a basic introduction to human rights through a team game. Participants have to depict different rights to members of their team using anything they like – except for words!
1
60
Reading the rules
Campaigning Strategies
Internet Literacy
Democracy and Participation
Participants discover the terms of use or community guidelines of a website and take steps to report inappropriate content to the website. Participants also discuss what the pluses and minuses of reporting there are, particularly in relation to the possibilities of Web 2.0.
3
60
Roots and branches
Racism and Discrimination
Human Rights
Campaigning Strategies
Participants explore the causes and effects of hate speech online using a ‘problem tree’ approach. This activity can be used as a follow-up activity to the activity Group X, or as a standalone activity.
2
45
Saying it worse
Racism and Discrimination
Democracy and Participation
This is an introductory activity to hate speech online. Participants rank different examples of anti-gay hate speech according to which they think are ‘worse’.
1
45
Talking it out
Campaigning Strategies
Racism and Discrimination
Internet Literacy
The activity uses a ‘fishbowl’ discussion to explore common prejudices about particular groups in society and engages participants to think critically about commonly held beliefs and develop arguments against hate speech.
1
45
The stories they tell
Racism and Discrimination
Human Rights
Freedom of Expression
Participants work in small groups to analyse a news publication, focussing on the portrayal of immigrants and immigration. Results are presented as a collage.
2
60
Understanding hate speech
Human Rights
Racism and Discrimination
Participants look at examples of hate speech and discuss its possible consequences for individuals and society.
2
60
Virtual action
Campaigning Strategies
Racism and Discrimination
Human Rights
This is an activity during which participants will be inspired by some anti-racism actions and reflect together on how they could develop similar actions online.
3
60
Wear and share
Private Life and Safety
Internet Literacy
Cyberbullying
Participants fill out a diagram to show their preferences in sharing particular information online and discuss ways of being more cautious when sharing personal information online.
1
40
Web attack
Internet Literacy
Campaigning Strategies
Racism and Discrimination
Participants redesign a (fictional) campaign website to cope with a flood of racist comments from the local community.
3
90
Web profiles
Racism and Discrimination
Internet Literacy
Democracy and Participation
The activity takes place in an imaginary Internet forum. Participants are asked to greet each other according to common stereotypes about particular groups. They use the activity to draw up a set of guidelines for interacting online.
1
Part I: 35 minutes
Part II: 25 minutes
A Day in Court
Participants play out a mini-trial, looking at a real case that came before the European Court of Human Rights.
THEMES
Freedom of Expression, Human Rights, Racism and Discrimination
COMPLEXITY
Level 4
GROUP SIZE
9-15
TIME
120 minutes
OBJECTIVES
To consider how freedom of expression rights should be balanced against the need to protect victims of racist abuse or hate speech
To explore the protections – and limitations – of the right to freedom of expression (Article 10) in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
To understand the role of the European Court
MATERIALS
Copies of the cards on pages 29-31
Pens and paper for note-taking
Space for small groups to meet – ideally in separate rooms
PREPARATION
Photocopy and cut out the cards on page 30. Everyone will need their own card and a copy of the case. You should have the same number of judges, representatives of the Danish Government and representatives of Mr Jersild (or as close as possible).
