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Campaign Toolkit – Countering cyberhate against Roma

3 February 2020
With far-right groups becoming increasingly prominent and xenophobic discourse on the rise, in recent years there has been a resurgence of hate speech against Roma. Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, countries that have some of the largest Roma communities in Europe, have seen an extensive rise in online hate speech.Counter-narrative campaigns are therefore urgently needed, and the public participation of Roma themselves, in particular through social media platforms, is fundamental. We developed this toolkit to help these efforts and provide practical tips for organizations and activists.The campaign toolkit is part of the Freedom From Hate programme, bringing together organizations from five Eastern European countries and running counter hate speech campaigns on the national level. The organizations involved in the programme are:

  • Amalipe Center za mezhduetnicheski dialog i tolerantnost (Centre for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance), based in Bulgaria, is a leading Roma organization working for the equal participation of Roma. The organization plays a central role organizing the Roma civil movement and advocates for the inclusion of Roma in government institutions.
  • Institut ludskych prav (Human Rights Institute), based in Slovakia, works to promote human rights through online and offline campaigns. The organization has significant experience in tackling online hate speech, including an online campaign on housing issues for marginalized Roma communities.
  • Romedia Alapitvany (Romedia Foundation), in Hungary, is a regional media organization managed by Roma. Romedia runs media campaigns to promote awareness and understanding of the Roma community. A recent project involved delivering filmmaking and journalism training for Roma women.
  • Romsko nacionalno vijece (Roma National Council, RNV), based in Croatia, is an umbrella organization for the protection and promotion of Roma minority rights. The RNV supports inclusion of Roma while preserving their historical and cultural heritage and strengthening their identity.
  • Fórum pro lidská práva, z. s. (Forum for Human Rights), based in the Czech Republic, focuses on international human rights litigation and advocacy in Central Europe. Its lawyers have represented a number of strategic cases in the Czech Republic aimed at fighting discrimination against Roma.
The toolkit includes:

  • the definition of and international legalities around hate speech,
  • counter hate speech strategies and ways to develop campaigns against hate speech,
  • a practical guide to organise trainings in communities and bring together campaigners.

The campaign toolkit is available in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Hungarian, Slovak and English.

Download (PDF, English)
Download (PDF, Bulgarian)
Download (PDF, Croatian)
Download (PDF, Czech)
Download (PDF, Hungarian)
Download (PDF, Slovak)

Author(s)

Marco Cadena

Zsófia Farkas

Managing Director

Minority Rights Group

Nicole Garbin