Purpose:
#BCNvsODI is nowadays a platform for dissemination and awareness-raising in the fight against hate speech, both online and offline, with information, materials and pedagogical, informative and analytical resources for citizens.
Stimulus/Rationale:
Barcelona is a diverse city committed to the equality between people. Hate speech (because of origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics or conditions) is a direct manifestation of rejection to difference, to diversity and to respect the other, and it constitutes a threat to coexistence in the city. Consequently, this discourse based on rejection must be combated by the public Administration.
Barcelona City Council works to combat hate speech and discrimination through an approach based on human rights and interculturality. Preventing and combating hate speech is one of the thematic priorities and one of the lines of action set out in the government measure-programme "Barcelona, city of rights".
Process:
Launched in May 2017, this project aims to raise awareness against hate speech. The action was firstly implemented in the frame of the #BCNvsOdi International Conference.
The platform contains useful resources to build capacity about hate speech and the best ways to tackle it. Among other things, it includes good practices in the fight against hate, thought-provoking articles, interviews and infographics.
The platform includes different possible actions to help stop hate:
- Information on online training and face-to-face training activities in Barcelona.
- Join campaigns against hate speech, online and offline.
- Links to report hate on the main social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube).
- Report to the Barcelona Office for Non-Discrimination.
- Information on how to report to the authorities.
Impact:
As a result of the conference, the Barcelona City Council created a website to offer a platform for dissemination and awareness in the fight against hate speech, both in its online and offline demonstrations.
The website offers regularly updated information, interviews, good practices and materials and pedagogical resources for citizenship.
The action is implemented with the collaboration of experts in the field, which supports the creation of contents.
Key reference documents: https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/bcnvsodi/es/
