The United Religions Initiative (URI) has announced the launch today of Talking Back To Hate, an online campaign that uses dialogue, education and storytelling to prevent and respond to incidents of hate speech, bullying and discrimination.
“Hate speech directed toward immigrants, religious, ethnic and other minorities, has become so widespread, it’s become institutionalized. Bus and billboard ads, talk radio, and the insidious forms of hate speech on the Internet, fuel prejudice and increasingly harmful actions like those we’ve seen recently,” said Debra Bernstein, associate executive director of the United Religions Initiative. “URI believes the best responses to hateful speech and hostile actions are positive dialogue and proactive, cooperative action. With the help of our partners, we hope to raise awareness about the spread of xenophobia and discrimination, and help prevent acts of hate and discrimination from taking hold in the future.”
The new Talking Back To Hate site highlights compelling stories and videos from people throughout the world who managed to turn their encounter with hate speech, bullying or discrimination into something positive. The site also provides resources to help schools, communities and religious groups both respond to acts of prejudice, and prevent them from occurring. These include guidelines for activities that foster respect and understanding, examples of positive individual and community actions in response to discrimination, and ways to reach out to victims of hate.
The site also includes an online pledge, asking participants to take a stand against discrimination and hate speech. In the coming weeks, the campaign will announce the first in a series of webinars that will address these issues, as well as plans for a worldwide day of action on Sept. 21, 2013, the International Day of Peace.
“URI North America is excited to be one of the growing list of partners for URI's Talking Back to Hate campaign,” said Kathryn Ward, URI’s regional coordinator for North America. “As one of eight regions of the URI Global Network, URI North America believes that talking back to hate and promoting informed, supportive dialogue between members of different cultures and religions will help foster peace and understanding throughout North America and URI’s global network.”
URI will be joined in these efforts by its organizational partners for Talking Back To Hate, which include the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) California, Carry the Vision, the Euphrates Institute, The Interfaith Observer, the Oakland Peace Center, The Peace Alliance, the San Francisco Interfaith Council, the World Sikh Organization of Canada and the Three Faiths Forum of the UK.
“We believe strongly in this campaign because Euphrates is committed to amplifying the voices of reason, rather than those adding more fuel to the fire of conflict, misunderstanding, and division,” said Janessa Gans Wilder, executive director of the Euphrates Institute. The Euphrates Institute works to advance freedom and equality by investing in better relations between the West and the Middle East through education, travel and community engagement.
We are asking media to assist in disseminating this vitally important information. For media resources and more information about URI, or to schedule an interview with URI leaders or staff members, please contact Stephanie Whitney at (415) 956-1791 or [email protected].
