site.btaClosing Seminar for Anti-Hate Speech Project Held in Bosilegrad

The closing seminar for a project against hate speech was held at the Bulgarian Culture and Information Centre in Bosilegrad, Southern Serbia on December 7. The event was attended by Bulgarian Consul General in Nis Dimitar Tsanev, journalists from Bosilegrad and Vranje in Serbia and Kyustendil in Bulgaria, Valentin Yanev of the Western Outlands Civic Committee, historian Anel Dzhonev and Vranje's Bulgarian-Serbian Centre Chairperson Darko Anackov. The moderators of the two panels were Elitsa Ivanova and Aleksandar Dimitrov, who work for BTA from Kyustendil and Bosilegrad, respectively.

In an address, Consul General Tsanev noted the important role and the responsibility of the news media for the development of democracy and civil society. Ivan Nikolov, who chairs the Bulgarian Culture and Information Centre in Bosilegrad, presented reports on suppressing hate speech, identifying fake news and countering disinformation-based propaganda, which were subsequently discussed by the participants in the seminar. Comments focused on the cultural and media environment of Bulgarians in Serbia and the overall situation of the local Bulgarian minority.

Nikolov said: "The influence and the power of the media, particularly the social networks, can be used for information and training and can promote empathy and global activism for human rights, environmental protection, the development of democracy and so on, but they can also create a risk of spreading hatred, stereotypes and disinformation."

He went on to note: "The criminal image of Bulgarians created in the public domain has penetrated school curricula and is becoming a part of an emerging new Serbian national identity. Students cannot identify themselves as Bulgarian in such a school environment."

Speakers cited examples of hate speech from articles and books.

The media forum in Bosilegrad was supported under a Bulgarian Foreign Ministry programme to assist the communities, organizations and initiatives of Bulgarians abroad.