SELMA “Hacking Hate” hackathon week is finally here and SWGfL will be in Berlin at the heart of the action.
SWGfL is working with our European partners and the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme to deliver SELMA – Social and Emotional Learning for Mutual Awareness. During this two-year project SELMA aims to tackle the growing problem of online hate speech with mutual awareness, tolerance and respect.
Over the summer we gave 15 to 18 year olds from across Europe the chance to influence change and attend a “Hacking Hate” hackathon at the Facebook Digital Learning Centre in Berlin. Entrants were invited to devise an innovative solution to tackle online hate speech. We have had some fantastic, well thought out entries to choose from that have given the judges valuable insight into both the concerns of young people and their enthusiasm to make the internet a better place for everyone.
Because of the excellent quality of entries, picking the winners was a difficult task. Teams from Italy, Denmark Greece, Germany and the UK have been chosen and will be representing their countries in Berlin from 5th to 6th December. The UK will be represented by pupils from Fife College in Scotland and Newbridge Integrated College in Northern Ireland. The teams’ winning ideas are below:
- Artificial Intelligence software that will provide counselling to victims of online hate speech.
- A website to educate young people about online hate called ‘Hate Defuse'. The website will contain information, blogs, video as well as peer-mentoring advice
The winners will now have the opportunity to expand on their ideas at the meetup in Berlin and work with experts in the field to further develop their plans to tackle online hate speech. They will then present to a panel of experts before the hackathon winner is announced.
Follow the teams’ progress on Twitter with #SELMAhack and on Facebook. Find out more about SELMA and the work we are doing here.
Together we can hack online hate for good.
