Stand Together Against Hate: The final Conference of the Stand Up Project takes place in Brussels

On 11th January, the final event of the Stand Up project, Stand Together Against Hate: A Multi-Agency Initiative took place in Brussels (Belgium) at Residence Palace. Esteemed speakers joined the event to share their valuable insights on the state of hate crimes and hate speech in Europe. 

The keynote speech delivered by MEP Magdalena Adamowicz moved the heart of the audience highlighting how hate crimes and hate speech start from simple words used to promote hatred and dehumanise people. She is a member of the European Parliament and her late husband, the Polish politician Paweł Adamowicz, was a victim of hate crime. Find out more about  Paweł Adamowicz life and Award 2023 here. 

After the presentation of the project by Giovanni Gasparini, Prosecutor Office of Venice, the morning session started with the roundtable Navigating the Intersection of Hate Speech and Crimes. The speakers were Menno Ettema, Programme Manager and Co-Secretary to expert Committee on Combating Hate Speech, Nataša Vučković, member of the Center for Democracy Foundation (CDF) and ALDA Vice President; Sergio Bianchi, expert of the Group on Combating Anti-Muslim hatred and discrimination in the EU and Simonetta Moro from the Municipality of Bologna.

The presentation of the EU Policy Paper results “EU-Level Policy Recommendations on Supporting Multi-Agency Cooperation in Countering Hate Crime, Including Through the Use of Technologies” was led by Eva Tzavala, the Coordinator of the Scientific Unit, and Dr. Anastasia Chalkia, the Human Rights Officer, both representing GNCHR.

Camilla Vedovato, project manager at ALDA, presented the Victim Support Handbook that provides an overview of the STAND-UP project’s vocabulary as well as an analysis of the technological tool OSIN employed. The handbook: 

• gives background information on the rights of victims of hate crimes within the EU;
• describes hate crimes and their types, their effects, and offers a victim-centred approach to support; 
• it outlines the roles of prosecutors and CSOs, the legal system and best practices in Italy, Greece, and Spain;
• ends with a toolkit for analysing a specific hate speech case.

The six European project partners shared the afternoon session’s panels on interagency cooperation to tackle hate crimes and hate speech, as well as local pilot success stories and results developed in Veneto, Athens, Andalusia, and Trentino-Alto Adige.

The Stand Up Project lasted two years and is a collaborative initiative dedicated to combating hate crimes and promoting inclusivity within the European Union

Through research, training programs, and the development of valuable resources, the project sought to empower communities, law enforcement, and organisations to actively address and prevent hate crimes. The project’s focus areas included awareness-raising, victim support, and the establishment of effective strategies to counter hate crime.