At opening of the North-South Intercultural Conference on Digital resilience: Youth strategies against acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems, Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge said: "Together, we must build digital resilience to combat cyber hate and foster inclusive, diverse societies, for the benefit of future generations. It's all about dialogue".
"Taking into account the clear indication of the interregional and supranational character of this challenge, which is increasingly affecting youth, it is of utmost importance to link the existing legal framework with various social initiatives of young people, so as to stop, in a coherent manner, the progression of racial and xenophobic crimes in the digital sphere and make preventive steps for the time to come", said Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ervin Ibrahimović.
Officials and experts from Africa, Europe and the Middle East, representatives of regional and global international organisations, civil society organisations, and a strong youth representation gathered in Kotor, Montenegro, to share ideas and perspectives on how we can work with young people to address acts of racism and xenophobia online.
Addressing the conference, Deputy Secretary General emphasised that "The input of youth is vital to address current challenges as the reach of digital communication becomes ever greater, allowing publication of content that is instant, permanent, and anonymous. This at a time when politics in many countries is becoming more extreme, aggressive and polarised often feeding on geopolitical events, including increased migration flows, the Russian Federation's appalling war of aggression against Ukraine, and the conflict in the Middle East."
The Minister of Human and Minority Rights, Fatmir Gjeka underscored that "In light of the development of digital technologies, new forms of discrimination have emerged. Hate speech, in the form of racist and xenophobic statements, has become one of the most challenging issues of our time. It is important to note that education plays a key role in recognising and combating discrimination. We need to promote digital literacy and teach users how to identify and respond to harmful content, especially content that carries discriminatory elements"
Council of Europe tools to address these trends, such as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, the Committee of Ministers recommendation to member states on combating hate crime, the youth sector strategy 2030, the European Youth Foundation and of course the work of ECRI and the North-South Centre were highlighted. The conclusions of this Conference will be integrated into future youth initiatives, including a new programme of the North-South Centre called "Human Rights Education for Youth" (HEY) in view of strengthening youth civil society across Europe, the Southern Mediterranean, and sub-Saharan Africa.
During his visit to Montenegro, Deputy Secretary General had bilateral meetings with Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ervin Ibrahimović and Minister of Human and Minority Rights, Fatmir Gjeka.
Speech by Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe
