More than 20 representatives of the Republic of Moldova participated in a training session led by the Council of Europe to better understand the forms, causes, and consequences of hate speech. The online course was attended by representatives from the Ombudsman's Office, the Equality Council, the Attorney General's Office, the Police, the Press Council, the Audiovisual Council, the Equality Council of the Ministry of Education, as well as several non-governmental organizations.
The session, which occurred on 15 and 16 June, also focused on the Council of Europe standards to combat hate speech, and techniques proposed by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI). Over the course of the training session, ECRI's First Vice-President, Michael Farrell, talked about the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach to combating hate speech.
Multiple follow-up training sessions focusing on the Republic of Moldova’s response to hate speech, as well as individualized training sessions for specific institutions, will occur in the fall.
