Syria participates in an international virtual conference on education and confronting hate speech

Damascus (ST): With the participation of Syria, the United Nations held its global virtual ministerial conference on “The Role of Education in Addressing and Building Resilience Against Hate Speech.”

The conference aims to enhance the role of education in combating hate speech and to reach a generation that has the ability to confront extremist ideology and hatred against the other, spread equality and human rights, and how to employ the Internet and social media for this.

 In his speech, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Bassam Ibrahim, explained that before the war, Syria relied on education as a developmental entry point to reduce the factors that generate social disintegration, thus providing the opportunity for free education for all its citizens, working on developing educational curricula and including in them the concepts of consolidating identity, belonging, citizenship, dialogue, acceptance of others, and raising awareness of human rights, women, children and the elderly.

Minister Ibrahim pointed out that the terrorist war on Syria showed the devastating impact of hatred on the lives of societies and countries, and how spreading hatred has become one of the tools of wars that are used against peoples from outside and inside, pointing to the response of educational institutions in Syria to the repercussions of the war and their work to reduce the factors spreading the spirit of intolerance, hate and violence through  a set of policies and procedures to enable students whose universities were damaged by terrorism to continue their education in other universities without discrimination and enabled local community organizations and student organizations to spread factors of social cohesion and solidarity.

Minister Ibrahim pointed out that during the war, educational and research institutions completed many psychological and social support guides to help children, youth and families affected by the war to rehabilitate and integrate them into society.

In a statement to reporters, Dr. Amal Yazigi, Head of the International Law Department at the Faculty of Law at Damascus University, stressed the importance of Syria’s participation in the conference after it was exposed to a terrorist war that led to the development of hate speech and extremism among some, and indicated that Syria was and still is an example of coexistence.

K.Q.