Accountable Use of Free Expression in Countering Hate Speech

The 2nd virtual training session on Freedom of Expression concluded on July 24, 2021 for the students from the South Eastern University with the participation of 36 students: o4 male and 32 females from the Department of Languages and Sociology in the Faculty of Arts and Culture.

The program will enable the participants to differentiate and critically analyse concepts pertaining to FoE and acquire a profound knowledge on the importance of free expression for a responsible media citizen.

The training was conducted by Dr. M.C. Rasmin, Media Trainer and Mr. Isbahan Sharafdeen, Producer SLBC which was Moderated by Mr. Mohamed Azad - Attorney at Law.

Re-capturing the learnings of the previous session on Freedom of Expression

The session commenced with a brief recap on the previous learning session involving participants to self-reflect on their perception on FoE through an online quiz which would enhance their levels of comprehension. Ijas Ahammed said, “I gained a clear understanding of free expression and observed these areas to be extremely resourceful. I will research further and try to practice them in life”

With this existing knowledge, participants engaged in an activity differentiating the words and characteristics related to free speech and hate speech. “Freedom of Expression and Hate speech have two different and extreme ideologies that cannot be intertwined” stated Dr. Rasmin.

 Identifying the differences between hate speech and free speech

Further, the role of present-day media, manipulation of public opinion and violation of FoE by the press and most media outlets were profoundly discussed and analysed through cartoons and real-life scenarios. “Freedom of Expression shouldn’t be a tool to violate the privacy of individuals and when incidents are reported it is very likely that the media brings in their biases into the situation.” expressed some students responding and sharing their opinions on the present role of media.

During the program the students who successfully completed their assignments for the previous sessions: Digital Citizenship session 2 and Freedom of Expression session 1 were announced. Additionally, 3 winners for the Module on Digital Citizenship were recognized for exhibiting a high level of commitment, active participation and successful completion of the assignments throughout the program. Anabalagan Devayani, Fathima Mirfa and Ijas Ahammed were placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

Announcing the winners of the Digital Citizenship training sessions

Acknowledging the experience and lessons they gained through the training, the participants said, “We will share the valuable information we learnt on Freedom of Expression with friends and family members for wider awareness.”

The activity is implemented as a part of Incubator Spaces for Promoting Information Rights and freedom of Expression (InSPIRE) project implemented by Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum (SDJF) in partnership with Helvetas Intercooperation and funded by the European Union.

For more info: https://www.ldjf.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LDJF.org