On 24 April 2026, the Victim Support Association (APAV) hosted a focus group session in Lisbon as part of the COOPERHATE project – A multidisciplinary cooperative approach to preventing and combating hate crime and hate speech, funded by the European.
Commission’s CERV Programme. The initiative brought together representatives from civil society organisations, security forces, information technology companies and the judicial system.

The session aimed to identify strategies to overcome difficulties in inter-institutional collaboration to prevent and combat hate speech and related incidents, validate previously identified challenges, and promote the co-creation of practical solutions. As part of task T2.1 of the project (“Assess current gaps and obstacles to the successful implementation of hate crime laws”), this work allowed for a deeper understanding of obstacles to information sharing, trust mechanisms, and cooperation between entities.

With 11 professionals participating, the focus group used a problem-solving approach, resulting in concrete recommendations. The focus group was moderated by Marta Alves and Ana Cunha from the University of Beira Interior.