2025 Counterspeech Trainings - The Future of Free Speech

JOIN OUR ONLINE COUNTERSPEECH TRAININGS

Languages:

July 14, 2025 (Arabic, English) | July 15, 2025 (English) | July 16, 2025 (Turkish, English)

Counterspeech is the practice of responding to speech that seems harmful or offensive. It can take many forms, such as challenging, debunking, or critiquing harmful speech, amplifying alternative viewpoints, providing accurate information, and fostering empathy and understanding.

During these training sessions, experts in the field will provide valuable insights into the meaning, role, and use of counterspeech. Please have a look at our Counterspeech Toolkit, a resource for people seeking to engage in counterspeech available in several languages.

Participants will receive a certificate of participation after the event.

Program

Note: Each program depends on the time zone of the relevant countries/regions and areas:

14 July 2025 | (Arabic, English) Middle East Time Zone (Central European Time +1)

15 July 2025 | (English) US Central Time

16 July 2025 | (Turkish, English) Middle East Time Zone (Central European Time +1)

9:00 — 10:00	Introduction of Key Issues and Contexts and Tour De Table
10:00 — 11:30	What Is Counterspeech and Why Is It Important?
11:30 — 12:00	Break
12:00 — 13:00	Counterspeech Case Studies and Practical Examples
13:00 — 14:00	Disinformation and Conspiracy Theories

Trainings By

Mina Dennert

Mina Dennert is a Swedish journalist, social media expert and the founder of I Am Here International, which aims at countering hateful content online with straightforward and effective strategies. Dennert specialises in disinformation and conspiracy theories and their impact on democracy and society. She especially works on supporting journalists, politicians and discriminated communities against online hate and misinformation campaigns that limit their freedom of speech and pushes them to self-censor. Her movement currently counts more than 150,000 people all over the world.

Faisal Saeed Al Mutar

Faisal Saeed Al Mutar is a social entrepreneur and media executive with extensive experience in economic development, innovation, and leadership. Over the past decade, Faisal has driven large-scale change and fostered growth in the Middle East and beyond. As the founder of Ideas Beyond Borders, he has built the organization into a leading platform for advancing free market thought, innovation, and policy reform in the Arab world, particularly in Iraq.

Tarık Beyhan

Tarık Beyhan is a human rights defender, communications consultant, and trainer. He has held various roles in civil society organizations, including Amnesty International and the Solidarity Network for Human Rights Defenders, with a focus on the rights to freedom of expression and assembly, civic space, and digital rights.

Joan Barata

Joan Barata is a Senior Legal Fellow for The Future of Free Speech. He works on freedom of expression, media regulation, and intermediary liability issues. He is a Fellow of the Program on Platform Regulation at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center. He has published a large number of articles and books on these subjects, both in academic and popular press. His work has taken him in most regions of the world, and he is regularly involved in projects with international organizations such as UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the Organization of American States or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, where he was the principal advisor to the Representative on Media Freedom.

Natalie Alkiviadou

Natalie Alkiviadou is a Senior Research Fellow at The Future of Free Speech. Her research interests lie in the freedom of expression, the far-right, hate speech, hate crime, and non-discrimination. She holds a PhD (Law) from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She has published three monographs, namely ‘The Far-Right in International and European Law’ (Routledge 2019), ‘Legal Challenges to the Far-right: Lessons from England and Wales’ (Routledge 2019) and ‘The Far-Right in Greece and the Law’ (Routledge 2022). She has a forthcoming monograph titled ‘Hate Speech and the European Court of Human Rights’ (Routledge 2025).

About The Future of Free Speech

The Future of Free Speech is an independent, non-partisan think tank located at Vanderbilt University. It works to restore a resilient global culture of free speech in the digital age through knowledge, research, and advocacy.

Questions?

For any questions, please contact Natalie Alkiviadou at natalie@futurefreespeech.org