Sharing our experience of tackling misinformation on an international stage
- Global Leeds
- Jun 26
- 2 min read
Last week, our International Relations Officer John Donegan was invited by the Council of Europe (CoE) to deliver a workshop on how cities like Leeds and Camden have been tackling misinformation and hate speech at a hyper-local level.
John was joined by colleagues Becca Evans from Leeds City Council's Migration Team and Hanad Mohamed, Camden Council's Director of Community Strength.
Every year, the Council of Europe runs a No Hate Speech Week, bringing together local and national groups from across Europe.
This year, one of the big themes was tackling misinformation in cities.
During 2024, our International Relations Team coordinated the Brave Spaces in Leeds and Camden project to tackle the rumours and misunderstandings that can drive wedges between communities, and lead to hostility. The project was a partnership with Camden Council, and ran in neighbourhoods in both local authorities.
The project was funded by the Council of Europe's Intercultural Cities Programme.
During the course of the project, the UK experienced a summer of violent disorder, much of which stemmed from the types of rumour and misinformation we were aiming to tackle.
This was the backdrop in which we ran a series of local sessions in communities and with communities to explore some of these issues and equip people with the confidence to address them.
When the disorder stopped, it was clear that our Brave Space Café sessions had become even more important, that people from marginalised communities needed to have their voices heard, and common myths and misconceptions leading to discrimination and exclusion needed to be addressed.
The project was also a finalist for the MJ Innovation in Building Diversity and Inclusion Award 2025.
John remarked afterwards 'It was a was wonderful to be able to share the learning from our project with an international audience, and to provide delegates with an opportunity to consider how the principles of the Brave Spaces project could be applied in their own towns and cities. We are so grateful to the Council of Europe for the funding to run the project.'
Note:
The Council of Europe's Intercultural Cities Programme supports cities and regions in reviewing and adapting their policies through an intercultural lens, and developing comprehensive intercultural strategies to manage diversity as an advantage for the whole society. Leeds has been a member of Intercultural Cities since 2019.
The Council of Europe is a pan-European international organization focused on promoting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law across the continent. It's not part of the European Union, although it shares some member states. Established in 1949, it has 46 member states. The UK is a founding member.
You can download a PDF copy of the Brave Spaces project report here.
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