Fellow from Algeria from the Swedish Institute for Dialogue Alexandaria
Thank you for giving me the floor. My name is ??? and I belong to the Amazigh people of Algeria. I
came here with the Swedish Institute of Alexandria. In Algeria, despite the recognition of Amazigh as
an official language in 2016, nothing has been done to promote its use in the public space. It is clear
that things have not changed at all and one has to note that it is still a false recognition. To make
things move forward, the Algerian government has to implement this recognition and to make it
effective. And this cannot be done without the promotion of the use of Amazigh language in the
public space, especially on internet. Therefore, I have two main recommendations. The first one is
that the opportunity has to be given to the Amazigh youth to express themselves in their mother
tongue on internet. The Algerian government should provide the necessary means to significantly
promote this language and to make it possible for its speakers to fully enter the digital age through
internet.
Currently, speakers of the Amazigh language in Algeria suffer from a rare digital divide that must be
addressed urgently by the government. The second recommendation is that we must fight against
the hate speech that is targeting the minority youth on media, especially on social media in Algeria.
Hate speech against all minorities is widespread on the internet and nothing is being done to address
the issue. On Facebook, for example, speakers of minority languages may face greater harm related
to online abuse because their reports are rejected or the reporting mechanism is not in their
language. The Algerian government has to set up a strategy to fight against hate speech, especially
on social media, and authors of racist discourse must be banished. Thank you very much.