The Society for Lifelong Learning, Culture, and Science Communication of Daugavpils University, “Intellect Park”, has successfully implemented the project “Building Understanding of Hate Speech and Its Prevention in the Latvian Civic Community” (ID No. SLG75024GR0075). The project ran from September 18, 2024, to December 31, 2024, with financial support from the U.S. Embassy in Latvia.
Within the framework of the project, several workshops were organized, featuring structured discussions for various target audiences both in person and online. Participants, including third-country nationals, Ukrainian civilians, and Latvian citizens, engaged in interactive sessions to learn about the definition and features of hate speech and analyzed precedents of ethnic and political hate crimes in Latvia.
In October and December, workshops featuring structured discussions were organized for educators working with Latvian and third-country nationals. The seminars focused on methods for identifying and preventing hate speech in the educational environment.
In November and December, students from Daugavpils State City Secondary School participated in workshops where they developed hate speech prevention skills using interactive methods and augmented reality (AR) glasses. By describing situations observed in the virtual environment, the target audience reflected in groups on the features of hate speech, linking them to the emotional impact experienced by the target of hate speech. During the structured discussion, the students analyzed the prerequisites that could contribute to the emergence of hate speech and proposed measures for its effective prevention.
As part of the project, researchers Prof. Maija Burima, Eva Bogdāne, and Oļģerts Rihlickis participated in the International Conference on Education, Research, and Innovation (ICERI 2024) in Seville, where they presented research findings on the implementation of non-formal education programmes aimed at preventing hate speech among the target audience of third-country nationals in Latvia.
In the conference session titled “Current Trends and Experiences in Education,” the results of the study conducted within the framework of the project “Building Understanding of Hate Speech and Its Prevention in the Latvian Civic Community” were presented. The study, titled “Non-Formal Educational Programmes for the Prevention of Hate Speech in a Polysegmental Society in the Situation of Geopolitical Conflicts,” focused on the implementation of non-formal education programmes for preventing hate speech among the target audience of third-country nationals in Latvia. During the presentation, conference participants were introduced to the study’s findings, and discussions incorporated insights from similar research. Contacts were established with educational institutions from the United States, Lithuania, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Mexico, and Spain that are active in adult education, media literacy, migration, and integration fields.
Based on the research findings, a scientific article titled “Non-Formal Educational Programs for the Prevention of Hate Speech in a Polysegmental Society in the Situation of Geopolitical Conflicts” has been prepared and published in the conference proceedings “ICERI2024 Proceedings.”
The project “Building Understanding of Hate Speech and Its Prevention in the Latvian Civic Community”, No. SLG75024GR0075, is being implemented with financial support from the U.S. Embassy in Latvia.
