Launching the Social Media Hate Speech Mitigation Field Guide

Download the PDF Version of this press release

Juba, 2nd July 2018 – The community peace building initiative #defyhatenow is launching the Social Media Hate Speech Mitigation Field Guide comprising tools, strategies and resources to combat hate speech both online and offline.

Date: Monday, July 2nd, 2018
Time: 2pm – 5pm
Venue: Hai Mauna Classic Hotel

The #defyhatenow Social Media Hate Speech Mitigation Field Guide offers tools and strategies to be used in grassroots communities & online campaigns for peacebuilding in South Sudan and around the world. Developed and compiled by the #defyhatenow initiative with selected excerpts from materials published by collaborative partner organisations & networks, 2015 – 2018.

The #defyhatenow Field Guide contains a guidebook including diverse workshop materials with quick reference tips, template handouts and exercises, as well as the #defyhatenow board game based on the training with the aim to reach a ‘Free and Prosperous South Sudan’. Individual sections of the Field Guide focus on different areas such as identifying online hate speech, ethical journalism, verifying news and images, cultural activism and peacebuilding. The whole package can be contextualized to focus on the training needs of different participants and target groups.

Meant for anyone who is interested in becoming a positive influencer, the #defyhatenow Field Guide is especially aimed at people who want to have a positive impact on their communities by developing social media skills. It supports those working either as individuals or in collaboration with South Sudan’s youth, civil society, peace-builder and media organizations, international agencies, churches and schools.

Contents of the #defyhatenow Field Guide

• Guidebook: Detailed information for workshop facilitators & training resources
• Large Poster & Game: ‘Quick reference’ tips to counter hate speech on social media
• Detailed information for workshop facilitators & training resources
• Handouts: Selection of handouts and exercises to photocopy and use in workshops.
• Cards: 10 Concept Cards to facilitate group discussion in workshops
• Medium Posters (Series of 5): Concept illustrations to use as visual discussion guides & prompts.
• USB Stick with video, audio & external resources / Pen & Post-it notes

The #defyhatenow Social Media Hate Speech Mitigation Field Guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Version 1.0 May 2018

About #defyhatenow

#defyhatenow is a project implemented in South Sudan through the Juba based cultural innovation organization Junub Open Space (JunubOS), in conjunction with regional partners in Uganda, Kenya and Sudan. Supported by the zivik programme of ifa (Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations) with means from the German Federal Foreign Office and managed by the Berlin-based r0g_agency for open culture and critical transformation, #defyhatenow is an urgent community peace-building initiative aimed at combating online hate speech and mitigating incitement to offline violence in South Sudan.

Find out more at defyhatenow.org

About Junub Open Space

Based in Juba, Junub Open Space (JunubOS) is a network of young South Sudanese entrepreneurs, makers, activists, and managers interested in identifying new models of economic development and seeks to create a resilient civil society in South Sudan. JunubOS was founded by a group of young people spirited to glow the livelihood of their surroundings with innovative ideas and boot startups in selected areas of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) namely Technology, Agriculture, Energy, Education, Entrepreneurship, Culture and Peace. facebook.com/Junubopenspace