COACH (Countering Online Antigypsyism and Cyber Hate) project kick-off meeting
On 25 and 26 January 2023, the COACH (Countering Online Antigypsyism and Cyber Hate) project held its inaugural meeting. The overall aim of the project is to counter illegal online hate speech against Roma by supporting the development of balanced online narratives and encouraging critical thinking among internet users in Slovakia and Bulgaria. The meeting was attended by the MRGE project partners as well as the Human Rights Institute, Slovakia. On the first day of the meeting we got acquainted with the project as well as the activities that are planned. On the second day, Human Rights Institute Slovakia conducted capacity building training for the partners on online campaigning techniques and strategies for online campaigns. The training covered the following topics:
• Online campaign strategy;
• online campaign techniques;
• reaching out to internet users, especially young people;
• increasing content, achieving greater visibility;
• online security issues.
During the training, ideas and practices for developing online campaigns related to antigypsyism and cyber hate were exchanged. Atanas Atanasov – representative of Center Amalipe, presented the situation in Bulgaria and which platforms are most often used by people in Bulgaria. Around 2.5 million Bulgarians or almost 74.5% of all internet users have Facebook accounts, and the number is constantly growing in the Balkans. More than 21% of Bulgarians use Youtube, 14.3% Google+, 7.9% Twitter and 5% LinkedIn.
The project will last two years and will end on 30 November 2024. The project is funded by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV).
The project will have a duration of two years and will end on 30 November 2024. The project is funded by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV).
