European-wide Action Week Against Racism

Colour Your Picture!

European-wide Action Week Against Racism 15-23 March 2008

UNITED Action Week in 47 European Countries!

Promote Solidarity! Stop All Forms Of Racism!

Today, in 2008, here, in self-declared democratic Europe, racism affects all our societies, without exception, threatening peace, cohesion and stability. Reports from all over Europe demonstrate the increasing dangers facing migrants, refugees and (ethnic) minorities. People continue to suffer from exclusion, prejudice and violence because of their minority background, ethnic origin, religion or social status. The danger is increasing by structural racism, undemocratic intergovernmental decisions as well as poor reactions of state institutions, political parties and media that even put the blame on discriminated groups themselves.

But we must not be desperate: There are people all over Europe who share a common vision of Europe as a land of equal rights and opportunities for everyone. People who look deeper and open their minds, people who have the courage to stand up and speak out against racism. All these people, Europe's anti-racist movement, have to stick together and combine their forces to be effective and successful in their fight for tolerance and equality. We have to work united to make our message strong and to promote solidarity!

Colour Your Picture! Value Diversity!

If we want to struggle against racism, it is important not to forget that racism does not only include crimes such as attacks and hate speeches committed by openly right-wing extremists, but also discrimina-ting policies that are part of our supposedly demo-cratic constitutions, as for example European asylum procedures, including the Schengen Treaty, and also all these small, hidden forms of racism, that become manifest in our every day life through stereotypes and prejudices. The common slogan of this year’s European-wide Action Week Against Racism, “Colour Your Picture!”, asks us to take a critical look on our own perception that is often influenced by stereotypes. It encourages us to leave these stereotypes, generali-sations and prejudices behind and to open our eyes and our mind for the colours and diversity of the world we live in and the people we meet. It calls on us to consider multiculturalism as enrichment for our society and to promote Europe as a space where everybody can equally participate. So let’s colour our perception and look deeper instead of seeing black and white!

Activities In 47 Countries!

Again in 2008, numerous organisations joined the European-wide Action Week against Racism and organised activities such as street actions, workshops, seminars, conferences, festivals, exhibitions, round table discussions and much more to inform general public about the need to stand up against racism and to promote the diversity of Europe. In several countries, such as Lithuania and Belgium, nation-wide campaigns were organised, involving a whole country in one common action: to act against intole-rance! From the 15th to the 23rd of March, tens of thousands of people all over Europe, from Valetta to Moscow, from Oslo to Belgrade, were united in their fight for a Europe without discrimination, intole-rance, racism and nationalism, promoting diversity, mutual respect and understanding.

Why This Campaign?

The 21st of March was declared the 'International Day for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimin-ation' by the General Assembly of the United Nations as a reaction to the murder of 69 anti-apartheid demonstrators in Sharpeville, South-Africa, in 1960. UNITED initiated the European-wide Action Week Against Racism around the 21st of March in 1992 to protest against current forms of racism and discrimina-tion and to promote diversity, intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding. Racism and discrimination are not a local issue, but have a European dimension, which is why they have to be fought on all levels: local, national and European. The strength of the UNITED campaigns is the amount and variety of organisations, people and countries that participate in them and the creativity and diversity of the activities that are organised. Creating together this huge campaign, we learn from each other and gain new energy, inspiration and motivation to go on with our everyday struggle against racism. We show that there is an enormous amount of people that believe in an open, multicultural society and we can generate European-wide publicity for our single actions in our different countries and the common vision that lies behind. Together we are united! United we are strong!

Campaigning With UNITED

The European-wide Action Week against Racism has grown into the broadest annual antiracist campaign, involving thousands of people in the fight against racism. We, who work at the UNITED secretariat in Amsterdam, are often asked how such a huge campaign can be coordinated by such a small office with only a few staff members. The answer is quite simple: UNITED is not an office, it is the European network against nationalism, racism, fascism and in support of migrants and refugees. This means that the participating organisations carried out their own activities, but could benefit from a strong network structure and the support of the UNITED secretariat that coordinated the campaign: We prepared campaign material, distributed it all over Europe, we actively motivated hundreds of NGOs via e-mails and phone-calls, we supported them by offering knowledge and helping in finding partners etc, and we produced a 'List of Activities', which gives an overview on all events that took place during the Action Week. To get European-wide attention for the campaign and to help the single network organisations to get their actions visible and known by a wide public, we sent out a media release to all the important European press agencies, newspapers etc. and finally published this report. On behalf of the whole network, we would like to thank the participating organisations for making this successful campaign possible and for their active engagement and support to create this report.

INTERNATIONAL: Stop Racism!
From the 14th to the 21st of March, the annual international week of enlightenment action ‘Stop Racism!’ took place in Russia and Newly Independent States (NIS), coordinated by the ‘International Youth Human Rights Movement’, the ‘Youth Network Against Racism and Intolerance’ and ‘Young Europe’. This year, 17 groups from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan carried out various events against racism and for tolerance in 20 regions. The organisers wanted to speak and act especially against such forms of racism that show up in everyday life, here and now. Activists held actions devoted to official governmental nationalism and xenophobia concerning migrants and people from the Caucasus. Open lectures and lessons for students and schoolchildren, film screenings and discussions, seminars within university courses, public debates and more actions were carried out. The main goal was not to give answers or schemes of behaviour concerning the political and social situation to the participants, but to encourage them to think about problems in their society, to look at it from a different point of view, to open their mind, to ask critical questions and to get active.

FRANCE: National Educational Week Against Racism
To honour the 21st of March appointment, ‘Movement Against Racism and for the Friendship of the People’ (MRAP) published a press release to express its disapproval against the discriminatory French immigration policies and the growing xenophobia they convey. MRAP strongly condemns the treatment of immigrants in France, on the basis of its anti-integration character and the danger of its consequences: racism, exclusion, and segregation. All democratic forces, politicians and civil society are urged to resist against this worrying developments.

Between the 17th and the 23rd of March, several organisations in France, amongst others ‘Ras l'Front Reims’, co-organised the ‘National Educational Week Against Racism’ in Reims. Issues such as racism, intolerance and social exclusion of groups like for example poor or handicapped people, immigrants and sexual minorities, were presented to the public trough a rich program and many different approaches, which attracted people of all ages, religions and ethnic backgrounds. Some activists organised documentary and movie screenings or lectures, followed by inspiring debates about for example the situation of foreign students in the city or the use of black soldiers in the French army during World War I. Others approached the issue on a more artistic way by presenting photo exhibitions, music performances, theatre spectacles etc. The program also included loads of interactive activities: attendants could take part into role plays concerning discrimination and racism, and contribute to the making of a huge fresco against racism. Under the motto ‘Discover what I eat, discover who I am’, food from different parts of the world was offered to encourage people to get in touch with other cultures.

GERMANY: Nation-wide Action Weeks Against Racism
‘Interkultureller Rat Germany’ in 2008 again coordinated a huge nation-wide campaign against racism around the 21st of March. For the first time, the organiser proclaimed two weeks of action against racism instead of one as they did in the last years. This experiment was quite successful: More than 500 activities such as workshops, street actions, theatre spectacles, school actions and more were organised all over the country and involved around fifty thousands of people in the active fight against racism. Schools, sport clubs, theatres, museums, synagogues, mosques, churches, political parties, trade unions, local and national organisations, companies and many individuals took part in the campaign and together made a stand against racism.

MALTA: Refugees in Dialogue with Citizens: ‘We Want Maltese to Understand Us’
On the 15th of March, to commemorate the European-wide Action Week against Racism, ‘Moviment Graffitti’ in collaboration with asylum seekers residing in Malta organised ‘Beats of Freedom’, a full-day festival event in Valetta. The morning was dedicated to raising awareness on racism and xenophobia and the promotion of development issues among the general public through an informational exhibition, a press conference, distribution of information material and public discussions and personal exchanges with asylum seekers. In the evening, a musical ‘Reggae Party’ was organised at a residence facility for asylum seekers, to promote intercultural dialogue and the integration of third country nationals, emphasising diversity and multiculturalism by uniting people from different ethnicities. The activity has also provided the means for multicultural artistic expression by bringing together artists from different cultural backgrounds. The aim of the event was not to accuse anyone of being racist, but to promote values of tolerance and diversity amongst the local community, to instill greater understanding about the protection of human rights in general and the promotion of global justice and equality for a more inclusive and cohesive society, to empower asylum seekers and to attain greater awareness of the importance of being active and effective citizens in the fight against racism and xenophobia. Believing that racism and discrimination are the result of a lack of information, immigrants stated that they are organising this activity because they felt the need to explain to the Maltese people their situation as immigrants in Malta and the reasons as to why they came there. They reported about discrimination and racism that they have to face everyday, while taking the bus, looking for an apartment or work, about being in detention and about the painful situation of living separated from the persons you love and from the country you were living in. They asked for more understanding for their situation from the Maltese people and expressed that they don’t want to be a burden on anyone, but that they wish to live a normal life, to become an equal part of the Maltese society and to be treated as human beings and not just as unwanted objects. While acknowledging that racism is increasingly becoming a problem in Malta, ‘Moviment Graffitti’ is convinced that a political discourse which makes migration seem as a national emergency, or a national threat, together with a detention system which criminalises the migrants in the eyes of the Maltese, contributes in creating an atmosphere of tension and therefore a fertile breeding ground for racism. The organisers expressed their concern about the ongoing building of a ‘Fortress Europe’ and stressed that it is exactly this system of walling-off, that is forcing immigrants into illegality. ‘Moviment Graffitti’ strongly believes that there must be a Europe of solidarity, and not a Europe which blames its problems on the immigrants; a Europe which respects human rights and not a Europe which is ready to sacrifice the life of migrants for political opportunism. Only then we can say that there is a Europe, which is truly opposed to any form of racism and discrimination.

BULGARIA: Discussions About Anti-Racism in Schools and Universities
On the 17th of March, volunteers of ‘Gender Education Research & Technologies Foundation’ in Sofia organised a debate on racism in a school and encouraged the pupils to engage themselves for tolerance and equality. Together with the teachers, they developed plans on actions against racism in the school, like for example special lessons for tolerance, festivals, movie screening, lecture etc. Another debate on the issue was organised at the Sofia University on the 21st of March. Students exchanged experiences with discrimination and knowledge in anti-discrimination work. In the evening, a visit to a theatre against racism was arranged. The students distributed information material to the theatre visitors and involved them in conversations about why it is necessary to fight against discrimination and racism and what everybody can easily do..

GREAT BRITAIN: School Competitions
‘Show Racism the Red Card’ in partnership with Scotland’s largest teaching union, the ‘Educational Institute of Scotland’, organised a huge nation-wide school competition in poetry and artwork promoting anti-racism. Hundreds of schools and thousands of pupils took part in the competition to send a clear message about the young people’s willingness nation-wide to be a welcoming and multicultural society. On the 19th of March, pupils from schools across Scotland met the stars of Scottish football in Glasgow to celebrate the winning entries in the schools’ art competition and to stand united against the danger of racism. The players from Scotland’s top football clubs joined the event to support the campaign and to present prizes to the winning pupils. Even the trainer of the Scottish national team joined the celebration ceremony.

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: Interethnic Dialogue and Cooperation
After the three and a half year lasting Bosnian war in the early nineties, the country was politically divided into two governing entities, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, during the peace negotiations in 1995. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is primarily inhabited by Bosnians and Croats, whereas Serbs build the majority population in the Republika Srpska. Due to the terrible war experiences, ethnical cleansings and war crimes, expulsions, discrimination, bereavements and sufferings on both sides, resentments, prejudices and tensions between the different ethnicities in Bosnia-Herzegovina exist until today. The ‘Youth Group of Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republic of Srpska’ organised a street action on the 21st of March. Activists distributed information material and explained to the citizens the meaning of the day and the need to fight against racism. The next day, an open discussion about racism, discrimination and intolerance was organised for young people from both parts of the country and from different ethnic backgrounds. Using interactive work, games, discussions, group work and the method of brainstorming, the participants analysed the issue of racism, and tried to find the causes of its presence and possible solutions. In order to demonstrate the consequences of racism, nationalism, ethnical hatred and intolerance, the group also examined the history of the region of former Yugoslavia. Some of the participants shared personal experiences related to intolerance or discrimination with the rest of the group, which let them take a critical look on today’s Bosnian society and the presence of racism in their local communities. The workshop was a direct exchange between young people of different religions and ethnicities and enabled them to see that their differences and diversities are not an actual barrier to mutual understanding and cooperation.

NETHERLANDS: Demonstration and Award Show Against Discrimination
‘Nederland Bekent Kleur’ organised an anti-racism manifestation on the 22nd of March. Their protest was primarily directed against rising islamophobia resulting from the anti-Muslim agitation by the Dutch extreme–right party PVV and especially against a new film of its leader Geert Wilders that was presented in the Internet a week later. The film titled ‘Fitna’ (which in Arabic means ‘division of people’) is presenting the Quran as a fascist book, calling for violence, terrorism and war against non-Muslims. The movie warns against the supposedly aspired Islamic world leadership and the dangers for the Netherlands and its democratic values. The publication of the movie world-wide earned disapproval, caused popular outrage and provoked a large discussion on the limits of freedom of speech, press and art. Muslim organisations all over the world protested against the movie and expressed their feelings of being humiliated, discriminated and commonly blamed for the crimes of some few fundamentalists. ‘Nederland Bekent Kleur’, as well as many other organisations, strongly condemned the movie, since they consider it as racist, too much generalising, and threatening peaceful coexistence of Muslims and non-Muslims. They therefore called upon the Dutch people to join the manifestation and stand united against Wilders’ discriminating ideologies. The manifestation took place in the city centre of Amsterdam and attracted a lot of attention. Musicians were performing and local organisations were in presence with info stands to distribute anti-racist material.
‘Unity is Strength’ organised a big campaign in Rotterdam and other Dutch cities from the 17th to the 30th of March, encouraging schools, youth and sport clubs and different local organisations to engage themselves against racism and to take part in the campaign by organising various events. The final event of the campaign was a solemn award show on the 30th of March. In presence of young people, activists, prominent people and representatives of politics from Netherlands and other countries, awards were given to people who especially engage themselves for integration, diversity and anti-racism. A rich cultural program with music and dance from different ethnic backgrounds accompanied the award show.

CZEQUIA: Many Small Steps for One Common Vision: Peace, Tolerance and Mutual Respect
With the aim of countering racism, prejudices and stereotypes in Czechia, the ‘Multicultural Centre Prague’ organised an information campaign against racism titled ‘Orange Ribbon’. The campaign included loads of activities all over the country. On the 17th of March, volunteers and students in Czechia distributed on the streets of 9 cities information leaflets and stickers with the symbol of the campaign, an orange ribbon symbolising the stand against racism. In Prague, a press conference was held, announcing activities within the framework of the European-wide Action Week Against Racism and the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. From the 17th to the 31st of March, an exhibition of paintings and photographs from refugee children was shown, a seminar about the history and traditions of Roma people in Czechia was held, and on the 19th of March, a concert against racism with musicians from different ethnic backgrounds was organised, including various styles of music from all over the world: from traditional Roma music to Reggae, from oriental Arabic music over Klezmer to Balkan folklore, from Cuba to Armenia, from Russia to Iraq. In Brno the ‘Integration Day for Little Refugees’ was organised, an occasion on which children from the asylum centre together with Czech children took part in various creative and sportive activities.
The ‘Museum Of Romani Culture’ organised a week of activities, workshops, meetings, film projections for pupils and students from different kinds of schools. The activities were focused on intolerance and discrimination on different grounds. One activity dealt with the Czech history and discriminating laws in the Protectorate Bohemia And Moravia, another activity was a workshop together with a blind woman and her guide dog about the situation of blind people and the difficulties they face in everyday life. Other activities informed about the situation of refugees and minorities, such as Ukrainians and Roma in Czechia. Through role plays, pupils had the opportunity to put themselves in the shoes of discriminated persons and to put their hands on experiencing how they would react in a complicated situation. Trough an interactive program including meetings with contemporary witnesses, documentary and movie screenings, role plays and a lot of discussions, about 180 pupils got the possibility to learn more about the diversity in their country and about the difficult situation of people belonging to a minority or being differently abled.

LATVIA: Ebony and Ivory
‘Red Cross Youth Latvia’ held a workshop about racism, discrimination and intolerance in Riga titled ‘Ebony and Ivory’. The title is taken from a song by Paul McCartney, which says: ‘Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony side by side on my piano keyboard, oh lord, why don’t we?’ The lyrics of the song express the vision of a multicultural society, living peacefully together. The participants dealt with the definition of terms such as racism, stereotypes and discrimination and also with the history of racism. This was followed by a discussion about issues such as the reasons underlying racism, the behavioral influences and the possible developments of discrimination. The last part of the workshop was a small theatre spectacle. The participants therefore were divided into small groups and then had to play small scenes that showed a situation of racism or discrimination. For this improvised theatre the youngsters used small self-made dolls, which made the activity particularly funny and interesting.

FINLAND: Make an Environmental Act, Trash Your Prejudices!
Around the 21st of March, ‘Finnish Red Cross’ campaigned against prejudices and stereotypes all over the country. Dressed as garbage collectors and equipped with bins, activists went on the streets and, believing that we all have prejudices and stereotypes, encouraged people to write down at least one stereotype or prejudice on a paper sheet and to give it up symbolically by throwing it into the garbage bin. The collected prejudices were burned or cut with a paper-cutting machine afterwards. In order to make the campaign more visible and to attract also the media, the activists even involved actors from a popular TV-show in the campaign. This activity is a nice idea to demonstrate that we all have prejudices and stereotypes, although we might consider ourselves open-minded and tolerant. Instead of blaming it on the others’ intolerance and racism, it invites all of us to have a critical look on our own perception, which is often influenced by an unconscious classifying and generalising system of ‘the other’.
The ‘Mira International Culture Society’ organised an event against racism, which included exhibitions, music, dance and poetry performances in their international meeting place ‘Café Mirage’ in Vaasa. With music from different parts of the world, such as African drums and Salsa from Latin America, the participants celebrated the diversity of their city and community.

BELARUS: How Can We Be more Successfull in Our Fight Against Racism?
In Belarus, Europe’s last dictatorship, the constant violation of human rights and democratic principles such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of press, strongly hinders the fight against racism and discrimination. Opposition politicians are often intimidated and the political participation of the civil society is not encouraged – when not prohibited -, which makes life hard for activists and NGOs. Nevertheless, despite the difficult circumstances and the authoritarian structures, there are still some people in Belarus showing resistance and fighting for tolerance, democracy and equal opportunities, as for example the ‘Tretya Zmena Network’, which organised an ‘Anti-Racist Info Night’ in Minsk on the 15th of March, including discussions, movie screenings and music performances. The activists conducted a debating club related to the issue of racism and anti-racism in Belarus and otherpost-soviet regions. People from the local community came together to talk about recent flashes of neo-nazi violence and to exchange their knowledge of anti-racism work. In order to make their resistance the most effective and powerful, they evaluated what had been done in the past and compared different ways - from liberal to radical - to approach the issue. The discussion club was followed by a concert, which attracted the attention of even more people.

AUSTRIA: Educate Diversity!
For years have Austrian minority support organisations protested and fought against the harsh action of Austrian authorities in the region of Carinthia towards migrants and the Slovene minority. Right-wing politicians, in the very first place the region’s governor Jörg Haider, spread prejudices and hatred through populist, nationalistic and discriminatory speeches, warning of ‘foreign infiltration’ and promoting strict action against immigration, and so create a social and political climate which makes it impossible for many people to live without fear of discrimination and racism. On the occasion of the 21st of March, the student organisation ‘ÖH Klagenfurt’ published ‘MIRACULIX’, a special newspaper informing about racism and intolerance in Austria and about integration and peace work. They interviewed a Bulgarian student about his experiences as a foreigner living and studying in Klagenfurt, they condemn the arbitrary deportations of Chechens by Carinthian authorities and write about students giving German lessons for asylum seekers. ‘MIRACULIX’ was spread in the university and is also available on the Internet.
Members of the ‘Austrian Peace Service Abroad’ organised poster campaigns in different places in Austria to raise awareness on the issue of racism and the need to fight against it. They hung up the posters in public places in some Austrian cities, distributed it in the streets and in rural areas and initiated debates about racism in Austria at universities. This way, they reached the attention of a lot of people and involved them in the campaign.

SERBIA: Anti-Racist Psychology
After the declaration of independence of Kosovo in February 2008, the multiethnic region of former Yugoslavia experienced a strong resurgence of ethnic tensions and hatred that in the nineties had led to war, ethnic cleansings and massacres. Especially Serbia, which opposed the independence, was troubled by riots and violent attacks against border crossings and embassies of countries that recognised Kosovo as sovereign state. Due to this hot-tempered situation, a lot of activities planned for the European-wide Action Week Against Racism were cancelled or postponed. But still, several organisations were active promoting mutual respect and tolerance:
‘Kulturban Serbia’ organised a campaign in the philosophical faculty in Belgrade. With a poster showing an inkblot in the shape of Serbia, similar to the images used for the ‘Rorschach-Test’, which is a very famous tool in psychological diagnostics, they attracted the attention of students and informed them on the campaign and the fight against racism.
The ‘Youth Council of the District Kovacica’ organised activities such as lectures in schools and workshops with young people to talk to them about the campaign, about problems with racism and discrimination in their town and the importance of resisting intolerance. Furthermore a photo exhibition on living together in diversity and multiculturalism was shown, and children built the ‘Wall of Quiet’, on which they presented their own ideas on the issue of racism. Another activity was a literary evening, during which young people presented poems in different languages and music from different ethnic backgrounds.

SPAIN: Football Supporters for Tolerance
During the second league football match between Cádiz CF versus Ejido, held on the 15th of March, young football supporters made a stand against racism in football by showing a huge banner saying ‘Alert Against Racism’ and distributing stickers to other supporters. The banner was created in collaboration with ‘Colectivo de Prevención e Inserción Social Andalucia’ (CEPA). CEPA tries to involve migrants in the local community, for example by inviting them to sport events such as this one, for which they got ten invitations for migrants to assist in the match from the ‘Cádiz Football Club’. Information about the actions against racism and discrimination was published in local newspapers, fanzines and some websites.
On the 29th of March, a music festival ‘Rock in Exile’ including information stands, graffiti, games and a street soccer tournament was organised in Puerto Real by various groups and associations to act against discrimination and repression.

ALBANIA: Human Rights Film Festival
In Albania, it is especially the group of Roma people that suffers from discrimination, social exclusion and intolerance. They are often debarred from free access to housing, employment, education and health services as well as participation in social life and society in general, since many Albanians have prejudices against Roma. Furthermore, Roma are often living at or below the poverty line, although the Albanian government promised to improve their situation of living.
Around the 21st of March, the ‘Academy of Film and Multimedia MARUBI’ (AFMM) organised, in already its third edition, the ‘International Human Rights Film Festival Albania’ (IHRFFA). Therefore, AFMM has set up a network of partners including local and international organisations active in the field of human rights such as UNICEF and ‘Albanian Helsinki Committee’ and also several embassies in Albania. During the festival, documentary and fiction movies from all over the world were shown, dealing with sensitive human rights issues, which are pertinent not only in Albania but all over the world, as for example repressive political systems, post-dictatorship societies, minorities rights and integration, environment and media manipulation. The main purpose of this activity was raising awareness among the public and state institutions for a better respect of human rights in general and those of vulnerable groups in special. Using the culture of film image as a tool to let people know what is happening with human rights around the world, the organisers aimed to educate citizens, especially the youth, with regard to the main concepts and principles of human rights, encourage debates, diversity and cultural tolerance and create a large collaboration network with different local and international organisations working in the field of human rights.

LITHUANIA: Nation-wide Anti-Racist Activities and Advertisement
The ‘Human Rights Monitoring Institute’, in cooperation with several other associations, organised a nation-wide ‘Action Week Against Racial Discrimination’. The campaign started on the 14th of March with a press conference in the presence of all involved organisations and a following seminar on racial discrimination for journalists. The same day, the ‘Concert Bus’, an open yellow bus, marked with the symbols of the campaign, went through the streets of Vilnius. On top of the open bus, popular Lithuanian music bands were performing thus attracting the attention of the whole city. Furthermore, a ‘Living Library’ was organised: people could ‘borrow’ other people representing a minority to get in dialogue with them, in order to break down stereotypes. During the whole week, civil actions and discussions against racism took place in all regions of Lithuania, organised by youth organisations and volunteers. On the Internet portal alfa.lt, people could visit a virtual photograph exhibition about Lithuanian Roma and refugees and national minorities living in Lithuania. In a shopping centre, the photograph exhibition ‘Another Culture: Searches and Discoveries’ was presented. Artists presented stories about Jews, Roma, Armenians and Tartars, about their cultures, customs and traditions. This activity did not only raise awareness and knowledge about the situation and culture of minorities living in Lithuania, it also highlighted the colours of life, i.e. all those differences related with ethnicity, which make the life brighter and more interesting. The ‘Lithuanian Football Federation’ also joined the campaign and dedicated all the matches during the week to the fight against racism. The players were wearing t-shirts decorated with stickers with the slogan ‘In sport all different - all equal’, which was also promoted on the big screen. A discussion for law students titled ‘Racial Discrimination in Lithuania: Myth or Reality?’ offered students the opportunity to become acquainted with the situation of racial discrimination in Lithuania, which is of top importance as immigration to the country is rising. The participants tried to analyse the attitude of the society towards different ethnicities and to examine the national and international legal acts prohibiting discrimination. Another exhibition titled ‘Genocide Children: a Look at Sudan of Today’ was opened during the Action Week by the ‘Tolerance Centre’. It presented drawings made by children from the Sudanese region of Darfur, describing the war in Darfur, and the terrifying experiences the children went through. A round table debate aimed at attracting the attention of the Lithuanian government and the diplomats of other countries to the Darfur crisis. For the whole month of March, some social advertising in public transport was held: a video clip to attract attention on the problems of racial discrimination and on the activities of the Action Week was broadcast on the screens located in the public transport in the biggest cities of Lithuania. Until the end of the year, big-sized posters encouraging people to take a stand against racism will be hung in the biggest cities of Lithuania. Manifestations of racism become more and more frequent in Lithuania and during the campaign, even the skinhead’s movement became very active. Some of the campaign posters were damaged – in the slogan ‘Say to racism NO’, racists changed the word ‘NO’ into ‘YES’.

ROMANIA: Different
As part of the European-wide Action Week Against Racism, the ‘Culture of Peace Association’ (A.C.P.) launched the educational anti-racism project ‘Democracy and Courage’ on the 20th of March in Bucharest. This project targeting anti-racism education of young people was initiated in Eastern Germany to counterbalance the important impact of the violent neo-nazi groups on the youth. Being a real success in Germany, it was soon also developed in France and Belgium. Benefiting from the experiences and know-how gained in these countries, the ‘Culture of Peace Association’ applied the example and initiated the project this year in Romania. It will last until December 2008 and take place all over the country. ‘Democracy and Courage’ is a project of active citizenship addressed to young people to educate them in citizen involvement and anti-racism. During debates in schools and special trainings, young people are encouraged to discuss and think about the issue of stereotypes and prejudices, to question themselves, to develop strategies on how to react against discrimination, to get engaged in intercultural dialogue and to discover the assets of diversity.

IRELAND: Multicultural Celebration on Traditional Holiday
On the 17th of March, St Patrick’s Day, a national holiday in Ireland, ‘Kerry Action For Development Education’ held an intercultural music and dance event, presenting music from all parts of the world. By involving the city’s immigrant community and their different cultures in celebrating a traditional national holiday, the organisers and the citizens demonstrated that immigrants are welcome in their city and are invited to become a part of the community.
The ‘National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism’ (NCCRI) coordinated a nation-wide ‘Intercultural and Anti Racism Week’ in April, which was officially launched on the 21st of March. The theme of the week was education, focusing on all aspects of both formal and non-formal education. Various events around anti-racism and anti-discrimination such as festivals, lectures, football tournaments and much more happened during the week.

GEORGIA: Minority Rights Protection
Georgia is a traditionally multiethnic state, being the home of more than 26 ethnic groups. Although there exist laws guaranteeing the protection and equal treatment of minorities, they are often disadvantaged and discriminated. Besides that, the heterogeneity of the Georgian society in some regions leads to social clashes and hostility among different groups. To encourage interethnic and intercultural exchange and dialogue, to demand minority rights protection and to promote diversity and multiculturalism as enrichment for the country, several organisations held activities during the European-wide Action Week Against Racism:
The ‘Civic Integration Foundation’ in cooperation with the ‘Council of National Minorities’ under the auspices of the Ombudsman of Georgia organised a round table discussion titled ‘Making Unity from Plurality’. It concerned the situation of ethnic and national minorities in Georgia. Experts in the field of minority protection representing various non-governmental organisations, media institutions, minority associations, universities, state institutions and embassies attended the event and discussed about the situation of minorities such as Roma, Azeri and Armenians living in Georgia. Several lectures were given and followed by lively discussions: The participants talked about the current situation of multicultural Georgia living between integration and segregation, about the issue of both violations of minority rights and the trends and cases of hate speech against ethnic and religious minorities in the Georgian media, and about the role of the Georgian Orthodox Church and cases of religious nationalism and xenophobia. They also stressed the importance and the need of intercultural dialogue in order to gain a peaceful coexistence of different groups in Georgia. The role of authorities and politics was also under discussion; in particular the focus was on the way stereotypes are crystallised in political ideology. Last but not least, the movie ‘Alienation Syndrome’ was shown. It deals with the problems minorities are facing in Georgia, and it was followed by a debate on the role of cinematography in human rights promotion and minority protection.
The ‘Human Rights Center’ arranged a meeting among representatives of the small black community in Georgia, journalists and Georgian youth to discuss about racism and discrimination against black people in Georgia, who often encounter disadvantage and discrimination in their everyday life, as for example in housing, employment and education. The ‘Human Rights Center’ alerts that Georgia’s XXI century society still suffers from being racist and that people still discriminate on grounds such as skin colour, social background, religion and ethnos.
The ‘Youth Union of Public Movement Multinational Georgia’ held a training course on how to use forum theatre as an education tool in anti-discrimination work. The training course brought together young activists from different ethnic backgrounds to exchange their knowledge, skills and experiences. Divided in groups, the participants created short sketches dealing with different forms of discrimination, which were later on presented to the whole group, that was invited to contribute to the development of the scene by moving or replacing the actors, suggesting solutions and giving advice on how to react. Afterwards, the participants discussed about what was presented in the sketch, about the different roles and attitudes, about possible reactions of the victims and witnesses, about what can be done best to find a way out of such a situation. The aim of this training course was both to raise awareness and to provide practical advice on how to counter racism and discrimination. The participants had the opportunity to examine discrimination and racism from different perspectives and to develop strategies on how to react in situations when they face racism or discrimination. In a multiethnic country as Georgia, with many minorities as for example Roma or black people being discriminated and insufficiently protected, a training course that brings together young people from different backgrounds also functions as a way to improve intercultural dialogue and understanding.

BELGIUM: Nation-wide Action
‘Movement Against Racism, Antisemitism and Xenophobia’ together with ‘Media Animation’ and other organisations coordinated a huge nation-wide campaign from the 13th to the 22nd of March 2008. Organisations all over the country joined the campaign and held various activities such as workshops, movie screenings, conferences etc. to promote diversity and tolerance.

HUNGARY: Anti-Racist March
On the occasion of the 21st of March, the ‘Kontakt Foundation’ in collaboration with the Hungarian branch of ‘Young Men's Christian Associations’ organised a walk against racism on the 24th of March, which this year was Easter Monday, one of the most important Christian feasts. After some hours of walking and hiking, the participants came together to discuss about recent racist attacks and the connection between Christian values and anti-racism.

RUSSIA: Fighting Against Growing Racism, Nationalism and Discrimination
On the 21st of March, the ‘Center for Interethnic Cooperation’ held a press conference in Moscow concerning xenophobia among Russian youth. Russia experiences an alarming increase of nationalism and racism. According to the ‘SOVA Centre’, attacks against minorities such as natives of Caucasus and Central Asia did not only become much more frequent, but also much more violent. During the last winter, alone in Moscow, 24 people were killed by nazis. In February, four teenagers were accused of participation in over 20 murders for nationality reasons. The nazi scene in Russia is well organised: Hate speech and nationalistic propaganda are flourishing in the Internet and their dangerous ideology is even gaining power on the political level since nationalistic parties are quite successful in local elections. Pseudo-patriotic rhetoric of authorities as during the anti-Georgian campaign in 2006 or statements about the ‘protection of the indigenous population’ stimulate xenophobia and hinder interethnic dialogue. During the press conference, the participants also talked about counter-strategies against the developments in Russia. The ‘Youth Human Rights Movement’ for example organises ‘marches against hate’, shows antifascist films, publishes related literature and paints over nazi symbols in the streets.

MONTENEGRO: Access for Roma through Education
In Montenegro, the Roma community still suffers from discrimination and disadvantage. Many Roma people never attended school and are therefore unable to read and write, which disadvantages them enormously in everyday life and on the labour market and excludes them from the society. To improve their situation and to integrate them in the society, the project ‘Second Chance - Integration by Adult Literacy and Vocational Training’ was initiated by state institutions and civil society organisations, such as the ‘Montenegrin Roma Scholarship Foundation’, amongst others. This project includes a teaching plan for elementary education especially for adult learners, and aims at poverty reduction and social integration of Roma. Since its start in February 2007, it has given the chance to complete their elementary education to about 60 Montenegrin Roma and Egyptians who were functionally illiterate. In March 2008, in a solemn ceremony in Podgorica, the first 60 graduates got their certificates in front of representatives of state institutions, the civil society sector, non-governmental organisations and the Roma community. The ‘Second Chance’ project is a successful example of cooperation between the public sector and the civil society. It gave new possibilities to many single individuals and is a big step for the integration of the Roma community into society. But we must not forget that despite all the effort that has been done, there still needs to be taken care of to fully guarantee equal rights, employment, education and security for Roma people in Montenegro, as well as in many other European countries.

POLAND: ‘Lets Kick Racism out of the Stadiums’
The ‘Never Again Association’ initiated a campaign titled ‘Let’s Kick Racism out of the Stadiums’ to promote anti-racism in Polish football stands. One aspect is to work together with the ‘Polish Football Association’ to raise awareness on the issue of racism in football and to force neo-nazis away from the football grounds. The second aspect is anti-racist work with different fan groups and organisations to promote football as a game for everyone. On the occasion of the Action Week, the ‘Never Again Association’ organised an anti-racist manifestation during a league match between Legia Warsaw and Widzew Lodz on the 22nd of March: The players of both teams came on the pitch wearing shirts with the slogan and logo of the campaign, to support the fight against racism in Polish football. The shirts were signed by the players and later auctioned off, to also support the organisation’s activities financially.
‘Service Civil International Poland’ held an international youth exchange in Poznan from the 2nd to the 16th of March. Young activists from different countries came together to discuss the issues of multiculturalism and racism in today’s society and to exchange their experiences in anti-racism work. They were provided with theoretical and practical tools and non-formal educational methods to develop own actions to tackle discrimination and racism and promote tolerance and intercultural dialogue. The exchange also had an impact on the local community since the participants visited local organisations and schools where they ran workshops on anti-racism. From the 7th to the 13th of March, SCI Poland furthermore organised a ‘Week of Action Against Racial Discrimination’, including many activities such as a multicultural concert, debates with the participation of experts in the field of anti-racism on signs of contemporary racism in Europe, philosophical cafes about the meaning of race and projections of documentaries about minorities in different countries.

CYPRUS: Interior Minister: ‘Cyprus Always Will Be Multicultural, Racism Needs to Be Tackled before it Spreads’
From the 17th to the 21st of March, ‘KISA’ and ‘ENAR-Cyprus’, in cooperation with the ‘Students’ Union of the European University of Cyprus’, organised several activities as contribution to the European-wide Action Week Against Racism: during the whole week, a photographic exhibition titled ‘The Migrant in Cyprus – A Portrait’ was presented in the cafeteria of the university. The photos exposed showed Cypriot society through the eyes and experiences of migrants and refugees. The exhibition attracted huge attention from academics and students, and it proved to be an excellent means to inform Cypriots about the Action Week and racism, as well as discrimination against their non-Cypriot fellow students. On the 18th of March, ‘KISA’ and ‘ENAR-Cyprus’ held a press conference about the Action Week and the activities they were organising. They also talked about the main points of the ‘ENAR 2006 Shadow Reports on Racism’, which were presented in detail in a public discussion on the 20th of March, and about the migration model and employment policy for migrants in Cyprus. Representatives of government departments and state agencies, migrant, refugee, asylum seeker and foreign student associations, other Cypriot NGOs, students, activists and members of civil society attended the event. The new Minister of Interior, who also participated in the discussion, delivered a powerful message against racism and outlined his Ministry’s and government’s new policy on migration as well as his commitment to combat racism and discrimination against migrants. He also declared that Cypriots finally have to learn to consider diversity and multiculturalism as the country’s reality and as enrichment for its society. The week ended on the 21st of March, with a cultural event including a movie screening and music and dance from migrant groups.

See the complete List of Activities!

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UNITED for Intercultural Action
European network against nationalism, racism, fascism
and in support of migrants and refugees
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