First ever United Against Online Abuse Conference taking place to ignite the fight against digital hate speech
3 min read
- The conference, hosted at the FIA’s Paris headquarters, will bring together international sporting federations, social media platforms, and politicians
- Speakers include FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General Gabriela Ramos, and FIFA’s Paul Murphy
PARIS, FRANCE – For the first time ever, experts from across the sporting, political, and social spheres will join forces and stand together in the face of online hate.
The world of sport, whilst exciting and inspiring, is facing an epidemic of abuse. Athletes, officials, and supporters are facing digital hostility, cyber bullying, and hate speech that needs to be addressed.
To ignite the fight, the Fédération Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) is proud to announce the upcoming inaugural United Against Online Abuse (UAOA) conference, the first of its kind, taking place at their Paris headquarters on Wednesday 29th May.
Drawing on the knowledge of experts, the personal experience of athletes and officials, and the combined dedication of all in attendance, the event will serve to educate and inform, building a global coalition to tackle online abuse.
The panels and forums taking place across the day offer opportunities for ideas and opinions to be shared that will help shape the mission and drive towards the goal of eradicating online hate.
The event will also see the launch of the new United Against Online Abuse Educational Module – a free, open access programme designed to upskill communities and help develop the understanding of online abuse in sport, the impact it has, and the challenges that are faced.
Education is key to eradication.
In February, the first four UAOA Global Research Scholars were selected to carry out Masters by Research at Dublin City University, with full funding from the FIA Foundation. Their focuses are on improving global understanding of online abuse against athletes and officials and helping to drive behavioural and regulatory change.
At the start of the year, the UAOA campaign also shared the findings of the barometer survey. The groundbreaking survey found that 75% of athletes have reported threats against their physical safety, whilst over 90% agreed that if online abuse is not addressed, it will drive them away from their sports.
FIA President and founder of the UAOA campaign, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, said: “I am delighted that we will be opening the doors of the FIA in Paris to such an important conference. Everyone joining us is doing so because they want to make a difference, and it is only together that we can truly implement change.
“This is the next step in our commitment to eradicating this issue and I look forward to the insights that our many accomplished speakers and guests will bring.”
The UAOA campaign is a collaborative mission between national governments, regulatory institutions, and fellow sporting bodies, with the objective of building a global coalition to tackle online abuse within the sport ecosystem.
To date, the UAOA coalition has welcomed endorsement from the Governments of Albania, Australia, Belgium, France, Greece, Malaysia, Slovenia, Spain, alongside federations including Peace and Sport , FIM, the International Esports Federation, and ASETEK SimSports. We will welcome further federations and international sports organisations, including FIFA, the IOC, the ITF, World Athletics, World Netball and World Squash, to the coalition in due course.
For more information about the United Against Online Abuse campaign please visit www.unitedagainstonlineabuse.com
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About the FIA United Against Online Abuse campaign
The ‘United Against Online Abuse’ campaign (UAOA), pioneered by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, is a research-led coalition aiming to tackle the growing epidemic of online abuse and hate speech in sport. The campaign unites Sports Federations, National Governments, Regulatory Institutions and Technological Platforms, with the aim of driving regulatory and behavioural change.
The campaign is supported by the FIA Foundation.
For any further media queries, please contact: gsherwin@fia.com
To join the UAOA Coalition, please contact: ebourke-consultant@fia.com
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