This week over 30 participants from institutions and organisations in Georgia will attend online training courses on Council of Europe standards to combat hate speech on 22-26 March 2021.

The course aims to increase their understanding of hate speech, its forms, its causes and consequences. Participants will also learn about the definitions and approaches proposed by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy recommendation No. 15 on combatting hate speech and the 2nd Vice Chair of ECRI, Michael Farrell (member for Ireland) will present the Recommendation and how it underlines the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach to combat hate speech.

This training course will be followed by further participatory activities to map the current national responses to hate speech in Georgia. The mapping process will use systemic design to encompass all possible responses as outlined in ECRI GPR No. 15, for example self-regulatory procedures, public condemnation, victim support and educational responses. By breaking down a system into its component pieces and studying how those component parts work and interact to accomplish their purpose will help participants identify gaps, challenges, and propose new actions and responses.

This activity is part of the “Strengthening access to justice through non-judicial redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in the Eastern Partnership" project funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.