OSCE Mission to Skopje marks International Day for Tolerance with conference on religious dialogue

SKOPJE, 15 November 2013 – Promotion of political and inter-religious dialogue as well as a culture of tolerance is the aim of an OSCE-supported conference that started in Skopje today in the run-up to the International Day for Tolerance on 16 November.

The event organized by the Macedonian Academy of Arts and Sciences (MANU) with the support of the OSCE Mission to Skopje brings together leaders of religious communities, academia, civil society and relevant institutions to discuss the challenges in promoting and practicing tolerance in multi-cultural and multi-faith societies.

The conference also focuses on freedom of expression online. National and international experts will share ideas on how to best tackle the problem of online hate speech.

“Since hate crime and hate speech are by nature never compatible with the core of religious values, religious communities can play a vital role in countering these phenomena”, said the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Ralf Breth. “Today’s event is a step towards involving them more in the public discussion on this issue.”

This is the second joint conference of the OSCE and MANU to mark an International Day for Tolerance.