This year’s No Hate Speech Campaign started with a training course for high-school students, organized in Strumica.

The training course for development of activities to combat hate speech was organized by The Directorate for Personal Data Protection, together with Center for Intercultural Dialogue in the period from 22-24 April 2016, in Strumica. The activity was implemented with the support of OSCE Mission to Skopje.

The training course gathered together students and professors from 8 high schools from Skopje, who worked together towards the development of their competences and follow up initiatives to organize in their schools.

During the 3 days of the training, the participants learned the concepts of hate speech and hate crime, and its consequences. They focused on developing their competences in presentation skills, the process of conducting an activity and/or initiative, exploring different tools for preventing and combating hate speech and hate crimes, and were introduced to Bookmarks as an educational manual for preventing hate speech.

No hate 2

The methods used during the training were based on non-formal education principles that allow participants to explore experience and learn according to their needs and expectations. The sessions where designed in the way that every participant had a chance to learn and share their knowledge and experience related to the topic.

As an outcome of the training, the participants planned 8 initiatives for combating hate speech and raising awareness among their peers regarding hate speech and human rights. The activities will happen in 8 high schools in Skopje, in the upcoming months.

Dragana Jovanovska