TIME: 3 PM ET / 12 PM PT | PLATFORM: Zoom | REGISTER: bit.ly/lecturedefusinghate
The United States has recently seen a rise in violence and hate speech, an increase in public rhetoric that seems to encourage violence, and a decline in the perceived legitimacy of U.S. democratic institutions. The spread of COVID-19 adds further fuel to these trends.
Research on international violence and peacebuilding reveals that much can be done to prevent violence and increase resilience—if leaders with influence and resources are ready to face these challenges squarely now.
In this session, with Dangerous Speech expert Rachel Brown of Over Zero, we will explore insights and lessons learned from social science and international peacebuilding—positioning them amidst the specific U.S. experience—to identify and discuss those areas most likely to bolster resilience in the face of escalated risks for political violence. Rachel will talk about responding to dangerous speech as an early warning sign as well as how to build resilience against this type of speech.
Register: bit.ly/lecturedefusinghate
About Rachel Brown:
Rachel Brown is the Executive Director of Over Zero, which empowers community leaders, civil society organizations, and researchers to harness the power of communication to prevent, resist, and rise above identity-based violence and other forms of group-targeted harm. Recently, Rachel and her colleagues authored a groundbreaking report: Building U.S. Resilience to Political Violence: A Globally Informed Framework for Analysis and Action.
For the past decade, Rachel's work has focused on using communication to prevent violent conflict. She is the author of Defusing Hate: A Strategic Communication Guide to Counteract Dangerous Speech and was a 2014 Fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide. Rachel previously founded and ran Sisi ni Amani-Kenya (SNA-K), a Kenyan NGO that pioneered new strategies to build local capacity for peacebuilding and civic engagement.