Armenian Citizens participate in EuroDIG in Berlin

June 11 - 13, 2014.

Three thematic hubs to follow EuroDIG – the European Dialogue on Internet Governance Forum in Berlin were organised in Yerevan, Armenia, by the Media Education Center, with the support of the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan and the involvement of ISOC Armenia, the Eurasia Partnership Foundation, and Yerevan State University.

Topics related to hate speech and its consequences for human rights online, child protection, network neutrality, data protection, privacy, and security were discussed by approximately 60 participants of the thematic hubs.

The thematic hub “Hate Speech and Online Defamation and Their Consequences for Human Rights Online” was distinguished by the diversity of participating civil society organisations and groups, including the No Hate Speech Movement, Women’s Resource Centre, Safer Internet Armenia, Eurasia Partnership Foundation, iDITORD, and the Xenophobia Prevention Initiative.

The hub organising team—Naira Avetisyan, Haykaz Baghyan, and Izabella Sargsyan—held three preparatory meetings in May to shape the agenda of the remote hub. During these meetings, issues of political hate speech, religion-based hate speech, and hate speech arising from misinterpretation and cultural differences were discussed and identified as topical and timely.

On June 12, hub participants held a pre-meeting and discussed the challenges of ongoing online and offline propaganda wars; mechanisms for the prevention of online cross-border hate speech; international community involvement in local conflicts; reinforcement of international human rights instruments against gender-based violence; the need for a universal definition of hate speech; and hate speech against women that challenges local cultural norms. The importance of updated media literacy programmes was emphasised. Questions were sent to EuroDIG Workshop 8.

Two other hubs were co-organised by the Media Education Center at Yerevan State University and the ISOC Armenia Office.

Safer Internet Armenia's Coordinator Narine Khachatryan made a presentation at the EuroDIG workshop in Berlin, “Intelligent Risk Management for Children and Youth in the Digital Age”, which was dedicated to the empowerment of children and youth, positive content, safety by design, and parental control through technical means.

Read an article by klicksafe.de about the EuroDIG workshop “Intelligent Risk Management for Children and Youth in the Digital Age.”