Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, will host a regional forum from October 26 to 29, 2021. The event aims to raise awareness and build the capacity of media professionals to prevent and combat hate speech in Central Africa.
The meeting is organized by the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) and the Commission of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), in collaboration with the Cameroonian government, the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa (UNCHRD-AC), the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC (UNJHRO), the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), and the UNESCO Regional Office for Central Africa.
The forum primarily targets journalists from professional organizations and will provide an opportunity to examine the various hate terms commonly used in the media by participants from Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, and Chad. The Douala Forum will also focus on the various situations concerning the dissemination of hate messages, their meaning, as well as on tools to prevent and combat them.