Hate hurts. Let’s be careful with our words – the UW campaign against hate speech
27 09 2024
On September 25, during a meeting of the UW Senate, the rector, prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak inaugurated the information and educational campaign “Hate hurts. Let’s be careful with our words.” The initiators of the campaign were students of the University of Warsaw, and the coordinator and substantive supervisor were the team of the Academic Ombudsman. The UW Equality Team was also involved in the campaign.
The aim of the campaign is to increase awareness of the threats related to hate speech and to promote open communication that respects diversity. In the face of contemporary challenges, such as the growing polarization of society, disinformation or verbal violence in public space, the role of dialogue and mutual respect becomes extremely important.
Hate speech, which is often born from a lack of understanding and dialogue, is becoming a serious problem both online and offline. Through the campaign, we want to encourage the academic community of the University of Warsaw to actively oppose hate, discrimination and all forms of hate speech. By increasing awareness and sensitizing people to the ethics of speech, we also indicate response paths and institutions that provide support in difficult situations.
The campaign includes a series of posters, infographics, a spot, as well as a series of video materials with the participation of UW experts on effective counteracting hate speech.
Information on where to get support if you have experienced or witnessed hate speech can be found in the video promoting the campaign and on the campaign website – https://uwazajmynaslowa.uw.edu.pl/en/.
On the website promoting the campaign you can find the following information:
- campaign description;
- definitions of hate speech and hate speech;
- directions to aid institutions at the University of Warsaw;
- educational materials;
- How to report hate and hate speech at the University of Warsaw.