On Tuesday 16/09/2025, we held the national dissemination event of the Elephant Talk project in Greece gathering over 51 participants — young people, activists, educators, artists, and members of the public — for a full-day interactive programme focused on addressing gender-based hate speech online.
The event opened with a focus group session, bringing together 8 youth, educators, community representatives, and stakeholders to reflect on the project’s transnational research results and co-create insights to feed into public dialogue. This was followed by a networking lunch that allowed participants to engage informally, share feedback and experiences, and connect with partners and youth involved in the project, leading up to the public event.
The public event began with a short presentation of the Elephant Talk project and its EU-wide objectives, followed by a visual and analytical presentation of the research results collected from 700+ young people across 7 European countries. The focus was placed on the Greek findings, which highlighted the frequency and mental health impact of body shaming, as well as prevalent gendered attitudes and victim-blaming narratives and the consensus for a need to address the issue on a collective and institutional level.
The heart of the event was a panel discussion, featuring voices from journalism, gender rights organizations, the LGBTQI+ community, and youth performance. The panel was moderated by a journalist and data expert (a young person who participated in earlier stages of the programme as well) and included a psychologist, writer, and blind content creator (disabled person), a young performer, a Drag Queen and performer, the Communications Officer of a Female Rights and Victim support organisation and a documentarian and researcher from a renown Independent research Institute in Greece.
Together, they unpacked the real-life impact of online gender-based hate, bringing in personal stories, intersectional perspectives, and suggestions for systemic and cultural change.
The event concluded with reflections from young participants, who shared not only their experiences within the project but also their perspectives on the policy recommendations that will be presented at the European Parliament in October 2025. This was followed by an open dialogue with the audience, which fostered a heartwarming and collective atmosphere — one of solidarity, empathy, and mutual recognition.
The discussion emphasized that online gender-based hate speech is not just a cultural issue, but one that touches upon fundamental values and rights, including dignity, equality, and non-discrimination. As such, the event served as a powerful example of the kind of civic engagement and youth participation.
Outcomes
- Increased awareness on how gender-based online hate speech is experienced by young people in Greece and across the EU.
- Amplified youth voices in public discourse on hate speech, through testimonials and facilitated dialogue.
- Strong cross-sector participation, bridging journalism, activism, youth work, and civil society.
- Valuable input gathered for the final Elephant Talk policy recommendations, to be presented in Brussels in October 2025
Read and download the Work Package with the report of the days carried out within the framework of the European Union programme ‘Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values’
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