Minister of the Interior Vlaho Orepic said that Croatia was now a safe, humane and friendly country.
"Basic human needs are love, peace, dignity and safety, and hate speech... is used by those who believe that their problems are to blame on others and those who are different, on those who they do not know and do not understand," he said.
Commenting on a football qualifier between Croatia and Ukraine to take place in Zagreb on Friday evening, Orepic said that he wished "we could all say no to hate speech" and called on sport fans to lead the fight against hate speech.
Rijeka Mayor Vojko Obersnel said that Rijeka was well-known for tolerance, co-existence and understanding of others. "Non-violence and tolerance are the only normal way of communication between people," he said.
Attending the launch of the programme in Rijeka were also local and county officials, Rijeka University Chancellor Snjezana Prijic Samarzija, representatives of sport fans' associations and others.