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Sixth Global Summit: Whole-of-City Anti-Hate Campaigns

Publication Date:

22/01/2026

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Event Reports

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Anti-Hate CampaignsSixth Global SummitToronto

— 6 minutes reading time

This report provides a summary of discussions during this session and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Strong Cities Network Management Unit, Strong Cities members, event sponsors or participants.

Introduction

On 9 – 11 December 2025, the Strong Cities Network held its Sixth Global Summit in Toronto (Canada), bringing together more than 300 representatives of local governments, national governments, civil society organisations, academia, the private sector and international organisations. This included nearly 60 mayors and governors, as well as 110 other local government officials from 100 cities and 42 countries. Under the theme Stronger Together: Forging Safer, Connected, Thriving Cities in a Changing World, the Summit provided a platform for city leaders to share practical and innovative solutions to prevent and respond to hate, extremism and polarisation, and build safer, more resilient and more inclusive communities.

The Summit agenda included a parallel session on Whole-of-City Anti-Hate Campaigns, featuring spotlights from cities globally on anti-hate campaigns, with a focus on sharing actionable lessons learned and recommendations, including on how local governments can engage with underrepresented populations and can thoughtfully engage around anti-racism strategies and anti-hate campaigns.

Featured Speakers

• Benedetto Zacchiroli, President, European Coalition of Cities Against Racism (Italy) – Moderator
• Nadine Nakagawa, Councillor, City of New Westminster (British Columbia, Canada)
• Nicole Redford, Anti-Racism Specialist, City of Ottawa (Ontario, Canada)
• Sandra Moreno, Strategic Project Advisor – Anti-Racism, City of Edmonton (Alberta, Canada)
• Zsombor Szasz, Senior Policy Advisor, City of Budapest (Hungary)

Key Takeaways

1. Cities must invest in their internal staff through anti-hate training as well as mental health support – as one of our speakers describes: to make good change, we need to start from a good place.
2. For a true whole-of-city anti-hate campaign, internal government programmes should align with external strategies – such as equitable HR and other policies and the use of civic facilities.
3. Municipal governments should look to recognise and uplift the contributions of vulnerable communities (including youth) in the development of strategies and in the histories of their city.
4. Cities can play invaluable roles in standing up to government-sponsored hate and authoritarianism – investing in long-term relationships with civil society partners can be one of many ways to do so.

Key Themes 

1. Engage Internally for a True Whole-of-City Approach

Speakers described a whole-of-city approach that includes internal alignment with external anti-hate campaigns. Nadine Nakagawa, Councillor, City of New Westminster (British Columbia, Canada), shared that New Westminster provides training for staff and elected officials to identify how concepts such as racism, misogyny, transphobia and other forms of hate can manifest across different communities. Hate can manifest in various ways that may go unnoticed – like through day-to-day microaggressions – or appear in more socially acceptable forms in conversations on public safety, including towards vulnerable communities experiencing homelessness. New Westminster provides a Community Action Network Leadership Training Program to train leaders and help address stigmas around homelessness, illustrating how a local government can pair both internal and external programming and policy around discrimination or hate.

Councillor Nakagawa discussed not only the internal alignment of personnel and city HR policies, but also with public buildings and their uses. She addressed court rulings and dialogue around the use of civic facilities (such as government buildings or libraries) and a local government’s role and responsibility when groups request to use these spaces to host contentious events.

2. Uplift the Contributions of Communities

Speakers highlighted the importance of recognising the valuable contributions and histories of different groups to whole-of-city anti-hate campaigns. Nicole Redford, Anti-Racism Specialist, City of Ottawa (Ontario, Canada), shared Ottawa’s Anti-Racism Strategy, which was a culmination of the contributions of over 2,000 individuals, including Indigenous, Black and other racialized community members, and City staff, for its development. During the multi-phase participatory engagement process, community members and staff identified systemic barriers, opportunities to unpack colonial structures and systems and other input for strategy. The City itself also conducted research and acknowledgements of labour that illuminated the different experiences and contributions of groups in the history of Ottawa.

Sandra Moreno, Strategic Project Advisor – Anti-Racism, City of Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), also shared Edmonton’s Civic Youth Fellowship, a collaboration with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation that introduces underrepresented youth aged 18–30 to public service, with a goal that municipal government looks more like the populations it is meant to serve. The programme began in response to goals identified in Edmonton’s own Anti-Racism Strategy, and taps into youth’s concerns and hopes for their communities. Through the fellowship, young people across the city have created resources on labour rights, community gardens and pamphlets for newcomers to Canada.

3. Partner with Civil Society Against Hate

Zsombor Szasz, Senior Policy Advisor, City of Budapest (Hungary), shared how Budapest is elevating the role of local communities and civil society organisations to inspire belonging, all as part of an effort to mitigate the impact of authoritarianism and hate propagated by other levels of government. Zsombor shared the efforts of the City as a lighthouse against discriminatory hate campaigns and policies perpetuated across the country, including against migrants, Roma and LGBTQ+ communities. Through long-standing partnerships locally with community and civil society groups and committing to inclusivity campaigns, cities can take a stand against government-sponsored hate and help those in danger of unfair treatment while inspiring a greater sense of belonging. For example, Budapest moved forward to host Budapest Pride in spite of a government ban on the event, which then became one of the most well-attended events of its kind in the country’s history.

4. Adopt a Systems-Wide Approach to Care

During the session, Councillor Nakagawa advised on the strength of orienting a city towards a care mentality rather than a punitive one, particularly within the context of anti-hate campaigns. Adopting systems-wide thinking incorporates all aspects of care for communities – this should include but is not limited to housing, food access and mental health, which can then help address isolation and other drivers of hate and division. The moderator of the session, Benedetto Zacchiroli, President, European Coalition of Cities Against Racism (Italy), mentioned the power of transforming anger into hope through this kind of approach.

Next Steps

Speakers from this session focused on central principles to whole-of-city anti-hate campaigns. They recommended a comprehensive, cohesive and broad engagement that recognises the significant role of internal city staff, civil society organisations, underrepresented communities and more in developing and implementing these strategies for belonging.

• Connecting cities across the world and their staff with anti-hate training and skills-building opportunities to ensure their anti-hate strategies are engaging the entire city.
• Investing in leadership opportunities and engagement with youth through initiatives like Young Cities.
• Supporting holistic, comprehensive development and implementation of anti-hate and anti-racism strategies with cities that engage various populations and build strong relationships for long-term prevention.

Additional Resources

Recent Strong Cities policy briefs and resources:

• City Leadership in Partnering with Local Communities for Social Cohesion: Ten Considerations for Mayors and Local Governments, Strong Cities Network, 2025
• National-Local Cooperation: Opportunities and Lessons Learned for Secondary and Tertiary Prevention, Strong Cities Network, 2025
• City Leadership in the Face of Rising Incivility and Polarisation: Ten Considerations for Mayors and Local Governments, Strong Cities Network, 2025
• Innovations in Prevention: Piloting Multi-Actor Frameworks in Small and Mid-Sized Cities in the United States, Strong Cities Network, 2025
• A Toolkit for Cities: Building a Multi-Actor Local Prevention Framework, Strong Cities Network, 2025
• A Toolkit for Manitoba Municipalities: Addressing Anti-Government Hate and Harassment, Strong Cities Network, 2025
• A Guide for Cities: Preventing Hate, Extremism & Polarisation, Strong Cities Network, updated 2025
• A Guide for Mayors: Preventing and Responding to Hate, Extremism & Polarisation, Strong Cities Network, updated 2025
• A Guide for City-Led Response, Strong Cities Network, May 2024
• City Spotlights Library, Strong Cities Network

Donors & Partners

The Sixth Global Summit was co-hosted with the City of Toronto and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, and delivered with generous support from the Government of Canada, The Fourth Freedom Forum, The Toronto Foundation and Charities Aid Foundation.

Contact Information 

For more information about the Sixth Global Summit or the Strong Cities Network, please contact [email protected].

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