Hate speech is rarely a black-and-white, yes-or-no concern. Opinions differ both over how it should be classified and over what we should do about it. Part of the reason for the difference of opinion is that these questions are seen by most people as related: if something is classed as hate speech, it seems to warrant some action. If it is not, we assume it is acceptable, or at least, that it should be tolerated. That means that the definition we use also seems to tell us when we should act. Some people are reluctant to ‘act’ against hate speech because they see this as an unacceptable limit on freedom of expression. For that reason, they use the term ‘hate speech’ to refer only to the very worst instances, for example, when immediate threats are made to someone’s life or security. We work in this project with a manual Bookmarks based on the Council of Europe’s definition, which takes a much broader view of hate speech. The approach taken in these pages also agrees with the idea that ‘something must be done’ about anything which falls under that definition. Hate speech is dangerous not only because it is damaging in itself, but also because it can lead to more serious human rights violations, including physical violence. If unchecked, hate speech online feeds back into the offline world, inciting further racial tension and other forms of discrimination and abuse. The potential for hate to spread quickly in the virtual world increases its potential damage. We aim with this project to improve the level of key competences and skills of young people, including those with fewer opportunities, to face the phenomenon of hate speech, as well as to promote understanding of intercultural dialogue, social inclusion and solidarity, through learning mobility of multinational youth workers involved in this initiative. We aim to reach our objectives by equipping youth workers with competences needed for transferring the common fundamental values of our society particularly to the hard to reach young people and to combat hate speech. Hate speech online represents the leaves of a particularly malicious plant, whose roots lie deep in society. Pruning the leaves cannot address the wider causes of the problem. As Thorbjørn Jagland stated: you may ask: “Why should we bother? Don’t people have the right to express themselves freely in a democratic society?” It is true that freedom of expression is a fundamental human right that applies also to ideas that may offend, shock or disturb people. But exercising this right carries clear duties and responsibilities. Hate speech is not “protected” speech; words of hate can lead to real-life crimes of hate, and such crimes have already ruined and taken the lives of too many people. Hate speech is an attack on those who are often already vulnerable, and it sows the seeds for tension, further inequality and often violence. Hate speech has become one of the most common forms of intolerance and xenophobia in Europe today. Of particular concern is the increasing presence of hate speech in political discourse and how it has become commonplace in the public sphere, in particular via the Internet. When the unacceptable starts to be accepted, becomes “the norm”, there is a true threat to human rights. The No Hate Speech Movement of the Council of Europe was launched to reduce the acceptance of hate speech online and put an end to its “normalisation”. Young people are not only ‘bystanders’ to hate speech online: many are already victims, and some have been drawn into victimising. Educational initiatives need to take this into account and need to address young people in all three roles. With this in mind, the activities in this manual have been designed to address seven key objectives. Our activity objectives are: • To enable actors in formal and non-formal education contexts to address hate speech with young people and involve school communities in the No Hate Speech Movement campaign • To develop the skills and motivation for young people to recognise online hate speech and to become online activists’ for human rights • To raise awareness of human rights principles and promote a vision of the Internet which reflects these principles • To support human rights education through non-formal learning approaches and develop critical spirit among children and young people • To empower those who are already victims of online hate speech, or who are likely to become victims • To encourage empathy for groups or individuals who may be targets of hate speech online • To break down myths and prejudice about some of the most common targets of hate speech.