This year, UNESCO dedicated the International Education Day to the essential role played by teachers in the fight against hate speech, a situation that amplified in recent years by the use of social networks, with the consequent damages to our societies.
Following the success of the "Deconstructing hate speech" Masterclass in October 2023, this 2024 session is dedicated to French-speaking teachers and educators from all over the world. The goal remains the same: give a global view of hate speech and equip education professionals with various tools to deal with it in classrooms.
The UNESCO/IPSOS survey shows that hate speech is widely disseminated on social networks. In this context, education plays an important role in countering the spread of hate speech. Education offers multiple opportunities to deconstruct hateful and misleading narratives and raise awareness of how they can serve as vectors for divisive ideologies.
This, the principle asserted by Karel Fracapane, specialist in UNESCO's program for education for global citizenship and peace, and the first panelist at the MasterClass.
Education professionals are at the heart of developing environments that foster tolerance, inclusion and respect:
Every lesson we deliver, every discussion we facilitate, and every policy we advocate for contributes to building a world that values understanding, empathy, and unity.
Hate speech is marked by the use of derogatory or discriminatory language against a person or group based on who they are, in other words, focusing on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, gender or other identity factor. Karel Fracapane underlined how hate speech can take different forms, from verbal to visual, to convey hateful narratives. Educating young people about the different forms of hate speech and how to identify them is an integral part of the fight against hate speech. Education should not just be about transmitting values and ideas, but also about encouraging young people to live together in harmony.
Before discussing educational tools to counter hate speech, Adeline Hulin, Head of Unit for Media Literacy and Digital Competences, Communication & Information Sector at UNESCO, reminded education professionals of the importance of reminding their students of the rights associated with freedom of expression, particularly when it comes to the use of social media. Our freedom of expression is essential and must be exercised, but we also have a duty not to repost hateful content or spread hateful stories.
With the rise of hate speech online, Laure Delmoly, International Project Manager at CLEMI, stressed the importance of media and information literacy skills. To tackle online hate speech, education professionals can set up projects to develop young students' critical thinking skills. One good example is to put students in the position of journalists. This would enable students to become aware of the limits of freedom of expression and raise their awareness of personal data and image rights. The aim is to develop good digital citizens and avoid spreading hate speech online.
What are some strategies can we put in place against hate speech in our schools here in the DRC?
In addition, Bruno Derbaix, co-founder of the association "Les ambassadeurs d'expression citoyenne", shared his expertise as an educator, teacher and trainer with the teachers attending the session. He explained how the fight against hate speech in schools comprehend necessarily different approaches, combining the management of group dynamics, incivilities and the mobilization of tools for debate and expression. Tools such as solutions exist: one must listen to students and help them to understand and accept other points of view.
The final panelist of the MasterClass, Patrick Samama, Creative Director and Vice-President of the Licra (International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism), exposed the importance of counter-narration. It is imperative to understand the environment to which hate speech is directed: an extremist ecosystem that amplifies hate messages on social networks, using outrage as a lever, sometimes fabricate false and misleading content. This phenomenon is exacerbated by the fact that the major platforms condition reactions to a binary mode: like/dislike (love/hate).
He pointed out that educational professionals are one of the few players who can tackle this growing problem daily. Educators and teachers can use high-quality content that can engage young people and serve as teaching tools, such as films, videos and podcasts.
In conclusion, teachers can be instrumental in tackling hate speech and promoting social harmony.
The active participation of teachers throughout the MasterClass reinforces the conviction that education, through the active engagement of education professionals, must become the main transformative factor in the fight against hate speech and a fundamental vector in achieving social harmony.
This event was realized with the support of TECH4ALL and the collaboration of 6C-Conseil.
