minorities through law, public policies, as well as the equitable redistribution of resources in public spaces. On the other hand, the portrayal of minorities in public spaces and discourses is indispensable for acknowledging the positive contribution of minorities to society as a whole. Yet, this can only be achieved by strengthening the agency of persons belonging to minorities. Drawing on the self-representation of minorities in their public portrayal is an essential way to ensure respect and counter racism, stigmatization and inferiorization. Both aspects will contribute to enriching society as a whole. 5. The Forum focuses on the portrayal of national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities in the public sphere and the private sphere whenever these two spheres intersect. It explores primarily the production of public discourses on minorities and the participation of minorities in shaping these discourses based on their self-representation. 6. More specifically, the 17th session of the Forum delves into the representation of minorities in public space, education, media, and culture. For each of these four themes, the Forum aims to identify how discourses and symbols may convey biases and negative stereotypes associated to minorities. The lack of representation and the misrepresentation of minorities in the public sphere fuel prejudices against persons belonging to minorities, leading to scapegoating, polarizing speech (up to hate speech), and eventually increased tensions, discrimination, and violence. They also contribute to the invisibilization or misrepresentation of issues faced by minorities. 7. In contrast, the Forum recognizes that discourses and symbols may also work toward the social recognition of minorities. Self-representation by persons belonging to minorities who are able to express and promote their identity is key to achieving this goal. Further, fair representation of persons belonging to minorities by outsiders of the minority groups is an essential component of inclusive and diverse societies that aim to leave no one behind and where persons belonging to minority groups can thrive. 8. The 17th session of the Forum is an opportunity to identify existing challenges and best practices at the international, regional, national, and local levels with regard to representations of minorities in public discourses and symbols. Furthermore, it aims at exploring solutions to promote better representations of minorities as a factor of inclusion. 9. The Forum will build on and update the recommendations prepared at earlier Forum sessions, more particularly at the 13th session regarding “Hate speech, Social Media and Minorities” (A/HRC/46/58) and at the 16th session on “Minorities and Cohesive societies: Equality, Social Inclusion and Socioeconomic participation” (A/HRC/55/70). It also follows up on the reports of the Special Rapporteurs on Minority Issues, in particular the report to the General Assembly in 2008 on “Minority Rights and the Protection of Cultural Diversity” (A/63/207), the recommendations report of the twelfth session of the Forum on minority issues on “Education, language and the human rights of minorities” (A(HRC/FMI/2019/1), 2