Sarajevo, June 8, 2021 – The BH Journalists Association in cooperation with the Council of Europe is organizing a two-day seminar “THE ROLE OF MEDIA AND JOURNALISTS IN PREVENTION AND REDUCTION OF HATE SPEECH IN MEDIA CONTENT AND THE INFLUENCE OF HATE SPEECH ON PUBLIC OPINION” for media professionals and the representatives of the judiciary institutions, implemented within the project of the Council of Europe and the European Union – Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina (JUFREX).

The main goals of the seminar and topics to be discussed by lecturers and participants are identification of the most common sources of hate speech in media content and positive examples of hate speech prevention, analysis of current cases of media reporting in BiH and the world marked by hate speech and their impact on the public, analysis of legal provisions related to hate speech, discussion about possibilities-initiatives for amendments to existing laws in BiH, making of a separate law at the entity/state level on banning hate speech, and making recommendations with the aim of improving professional and ethical standards and obligations of journalists/media outlets in creating media content, as well as institutional prevention and sanctioning of hate speech.

Lecturers at the seminar will be distinguished domestic and international media and legal experts, journalists, representatives of NGO’s and regulatory bodies in BiH and representatives of the Institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman of BiH.

The seminar will be held on Thursday and Friday, June 10 and 11, 2021 at the Swissotel Hotel in Sarajevo. In accordance with the epidemiological measures, a number of participants will follow the event via Zoom.

All those interested in following this event can apply via e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].