Tolerance Trumps Hate: Tackling intolerance through education, the media and social interaction
High-level conference in Brussels, Friday 8 May 2015

Following the recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, Paris and Copenhagen, youth activists from across the continent will join high-level representatives from the 47 Council of Europe member states in Brussels on 8 May to discuss how best to tackle intolerance and hate speech whilst protecting human rights and democracy.

The event, part of the Belgian chairmanship of the Council of Europe, will also include input from NGOs, academics and media representatives as well as organisations including Facebook and FIFA.

The aim is to draw up a set of principles and recommendations to help guide the Council of Europe’s future work in this area, building on the success of the recent No Hate Speech movement.

Participants will consider the importance of both formal and non-formal education, the role of the media – online and off-line – and the contribution that social partners such as employers, trade unions and sports bodies can make in tackling intolerance and discrimination.

Notes to editors

• The conference will take place at the Egmont Palace in Brussels with registration from 8.30am on Friday 9 May 2015; further information is available here.

 

• The opening speeches and the morning sessions will be open to the media; journalists wishing to attend should send their name, media, function, e-mail address and Belgian/EU press card number to [email protected] as soon as possible.
   
• Journalists will have an opportunity to put questions to Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders and Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland at 1pm.
   
• For further information please contact Andrew Cutting, Council of Europe Spokesperson/Media Officer in Brussels, via [email protected] or +32 485 217 202.