Stop Funding Hate is honoured to have been presented with the Jo Cox Award by Brendan Cox at the #NO2H8 Crime Awards.
Jo Cox stood for some basic values that we need now more than ever: unity, kindness, empathy and respect for everyone in our community, whatever their background.
In the past year those who reject these values have had a very loud voice and they’ve been emboldened.
We’ve seen the rhetoric of extremism creeping into mainstream discourse.
And we’ve had experts warning that the hate crime on our streets has been fuelled by the hate in some of our biggest newspapers.
But at the same time, thousands of people have been using their power as consumers to push back.
Every tweet, every Facebook share, every email, phone call and Christmas card has helped to show that the vast majority still support those positive values that bring our communities together rather than dividing them.
Whatever people’s political differences, all of us have a stake in ensuring we live in a society where everyone is respected.
And it’s not only in the UK: Across the world there is a growing movement of people challenging media hatred through consumer power – including the amazing work of the Sleeping Giants campaign in the United States and across Europe.
Here in Britain it’s a privilege to work with Citizens UK, Tell MAMA, the NUS, Crowdfunder, Ethical Consumer and Stand Up Stand Out – as well as many talented people within the advertising industry – including from Mohawk, Media Bounty and DigitasLBi.
Stop Funding Hate has always been a collective endeavour. Over the past year, hundreds of thousands of people have contributed to this campaign – and helped bring about a much-needed public debate. We are proud and honoured that these efforts have been recognised in this way.