The Council of Europe will host a series of sessions at the hybrid Fundamental Rights Forum 2021 on 11 and 12 October. Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić will launch the Strasbourg hub of the multi-location event at 13h00 local time (CEST) on Monday 11 October. The Strasbourg hub will host sessions on the following themes, interspersed with events from the main event hub in Vienna:
Monday 11 October
14h30 – 15h30 CEST: The European Social Charter: a story on equality
A panel debate on how the European Social Charter, the only specialised legal instrument on social rights in Europe, and the findings of the European Committee of Social Rights can help to build a fairer Europe following the COVID-19 pandemic.
15h30 – 16h30 CEST: New online tools for human rights narratives
A presentation and discussion of three new online tools intended to help organisations and youth activists to counter hate speech online.
17h00 – 17h45 CEST: Alternative narratives on LGBTI equality
A presentation of the Council of Europe’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) training manual entitled “Can’t we be nicer?” on the broader topic of stereotyping.
17h45 – 18h45 CEST: Youth championing a corruption-free Europe and Eastern-Southern Neighbourhood
A discussion on how to better involve youth movements in efforts to improve access to justice, the rule of law and accountability across the continent.
Tuesday 12 October
10h15 – 11h15 CEST: Data Protection and Facial Recognition
A panel discussion on the Council of Europe’s recent guidelines to governments on the use of facial recognition techniques, and how the guidelines can be used to shape policy.
11h30 – 12h30 CEST: Escape Roomours
A presentation of an interactive educational tool, based on the escape room format, to help young people counter potentially damaging rumours in various contexts.
14h30 – 15h30 CEST: Globalpolicy.ai: defending the development of a trustworthy, rights-based artificial intelligence (AI)
A discussion on the common web platform developed by a number of international bodies involved in regulating the ethical and human rights-compliant use of artificial intelligence.
The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, and Director General for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, Christos Giakoumopoulos, will take part in the closing session of the forum, entitled “Building a vision of hope: Where do we go from here?” from 17h15 CEST on Tuesday 12 October.