The Hrant Dink Foundation started the project entitled as “Utilizing Digital Technology for Social Cohesion, Positive Messaging and Peace by Boosting Collaboration, Exchange and Solidarity” in 2022, with the financial support of the European Union and Friedrich Naumann Foundation, and in partnership with Boğaziçi University and Sabancı University.

The project aims to create a partnership with different disciplines like linguistics, computer science, social science, the information sector, and civil society by bringing together two pioneering universities in Turkey to combat hate speech, discrimination, and disinformation in digital space.
The core product of the project will be the production of an open-source tool to detect online hate speech with the help of Artificial Intelligence technology.

Activities of the project include organizing a series of awareness-raising public events, panels, capacity-building workshop series and podcast broadcasts, developing an open-source hate speech detection software, organizing a shared-task AI challenge, preparing a report containing discussions and datas on hate speech, and producing multimedia products. The project will also have a transformative impact on the MENA region since it encompasses activities and training to empower the capacity and awareness of the CSOs, activists, and youth in the MENA region to combat hate speech. Materials will be produced to improve the skills of institutions in the Middle East and North Africa on inclusive language.

This project is financed by the European Union.