On 12 June, a conference entitled 'Turn off the hate, turn on the respect' took place in the auditorium of the Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu - National Louis University in Nowy Sącz. The project was initiated by the Eltrox Foundation Safer Together. One of the stages of the project was an art competition.
After the ceremonial opening of the conference by Dr Jerzy Choroszczak, Dean of the WSB-NLU, a spot by the Eltrox Foundation was screened, which introduced the participants to the topic of the event. Next, the participants had the opportunity to listen to a representative of the Nowy Sącz Municipal Police Station, who shared his observations on the subject of hate speech and discussed actions taken to combat it, and also talked a little about the paragraphs covering action on violence on the Internet.
The conference continued with presentations by two speakers. Magdalena Wajda, M.A., shared her knowledge of the causes and effects of hejt in society, emphasising the need to build respect towards others. Next, Dr Michał Mółka presented his research on strategies to counteract hate speech and effectively educate the public, and he also invited those in the audience who were willing to present how certain conflicts could be resolved from their point of view.
During the event, there was also the award ceremony for the winners of the art competition 'Turn off the hate, turn on the respect'. The list of winners of the competition was known from 9th June 2023, and you can see some of the works in the gallery below.
After the break, the second part of the conference featured a panel discussion in which two speakers shared their knowledge and experience. Wojciech Bobak, M.Sc., presented his observations on the activities carried out in the area of counteracting hate speech and the fact that we are never anonymous on the Internet, while the special guest, KSW Champion Robert Ruchała, touched upon the subject of hate speech in sport and ways of dealing with the problem.
At the end of the conference, participants were able to have their photos taken with Mr Robert Ruchala, which was a great surprise for everyone.
