Pristina, 28 may - On May 28-30 Kosovo will hold its 4th International interfaith Conference highlighting the role, experience and contribution of Kosovo and the Balkan region to the global debate on promoting interfaith dialogue and countering violent extremism.

This year\'s high-level event includes remarks and keynote speeches by global faith leaders, ministers and senior government officials, entrepreneurs, international representatives, and members of civil society with the aim of moving the action from public debates to developing tools at the disposal of new generations of social activists.

Among more than 200 participants in the conference there will be young delegates who will fly in from as far away as Afghanistan, South America and Nigeria to share ideas on how to combat online extremism and hate speech.

The conference runs from Thursday 28 to 30 May and will bring young people from Kosovo, the Balkans and the global community together to meet with faith leaders, diplomats, lawyers, journalists, NGO leaders, academics and civil society.

At the event entitled Interfaith Dialogue at a time of social media: Enabling Agents of Change, Countering Violent Extremism and Hate Speech, participants will share in challenging online extremism.

President of the Republic of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, said that she is glad that the Republic of Kosovo is hosting a dialogue “to find out how social networks can become exporters of knowledge and tolerance and agents of change”.

Petrit Selimi, Deputy Minister of Foreigns Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo, who will lead a workshop on Digital Diplomacy at the conference, said: “Once again Kosovo has set the stage to welcome more than 200 people from around the world to discuss interfaith matters, this year with a special focus on countering extremist messaging via social media.”

His Excellency the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Kosovo, Jan Braathu, congratulated the organizers on the ongoing promotion of the values of interfaith harmony, adding that “the best way to demonstrate your faith is to respect the faith of others”.

Senior Facebook executive Monika Bikert is set to address activists from around the world at conference this weekend.

Looking forward to the conference Bikert, Head of Product policy at Facebook, said: “I am  thrilled to be speaking at this year\'s Interfaith Conference to discuss how Facebook works to ensure that it remains a safe and respectful place for people to share and connect with their family and friends. I look forward to the opportunity to come and meet with young people from around the world, the Balkans and Kosovo itself.”

Other leading speakers at the event include international prosecutor Sir Geoffrey Nice, Norway’s Chief Rabbi Michael Melchior, Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and Deputy PM & First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hashim Thaçi.

The event opens on Thursday, 28 May, from 5:00pm, at the Swiss Diamond hotel.

The conference is hosted by the Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Prishtina based NGO International Institute for Interfaith Dialogue (IIID) with support from the United Nations, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Embassy of United States of America, British Council, British Embassy, the European Union Office, and the German Embassy.