50  //  TOLERANCE AND NON-DISCRIMINATION Participants in a conference on countering intolerance and discrimination against Muslims held in Vienna on 18 October 2017. The event was coorganized by ODIHR and Georgetown University. (OSCE/Salko Agovic) “T he importance and significance of this conference is highlighted by elections in a number of countries, which reveal the extent to which antiMuslim candidates and their political platforms threaten the freedoms, human rights and civil liberties of Muslim citizens and immigrants.” — Tamara Sonn, Associate Director at Georgetown University’s The Bridge Initiative, a multi-year research project that connects academic study with broader public discussions on intolerance against Muslims Women made up 49% of participants at Tolerance and Non-Discrimination events in 2017. Confronting intolerance against Muslims ODIHR’s efforts to counter intolerance against Muslims included improving the Office’s level of co-operation with civil society groups, improving hate crime reporting, preparing educational guidelines for addressing intolerance against Muslims and working with the media to counter biased and prejudiced journalism. As part of the Office’s efforts to improve the level and quality of reporting of hate incidents, a workshop on hate crime and discrimination was organized in co-operation with the European Muslim Initiative for Social Cohesion and the Tuzla Municipality in Istanbul. This was complemented by a three day regional workshop for civil society actors from across South-Eastern Europe, held in Belgrade. To mark the 10th anniversary of the OSCE’s Cordoba Declaration on Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims, a conference on the topic was organized with Georgetown University’s The Bridge Initiative in Vienna. ODIHR is building on its Guidelines for Educators on Countering Intolerance and Discrimination against ­Muslims to prepare teaching materials to counter intolerance against Muslims and is partnering with the Immigration Council of Ireland in this endeavour. A consultative event was held as part of these efforts. ODIHR is also working to build bridges between journalists and communities affected by hate speech and hate crime. For example, the Office is working with the Ethical Journalism Network and the EU Agency for