International Weeks Against Racism

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The International Weeks Against Racism are action weeks of solidarity with the opponents and victims of racism , which take place every year around March 21st , the International Day Against Racism .

background

On March 21, 1960, around 20,000 people demonstrated peacefully in Sharpeville, South Africa, in what was then the Transvaal province near Johannesburg against the discriminatory passport laws (the consequences of the Native Urban Areas Act and other laws) of the apartheid regime of that time . The police shot and killed 69 demonstrators during the protests and at least 180 were injured. This bloodbath went down in history as the Sharpeville Massacre . Six years later, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed March 21 to be International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in resolution 2142 (XXI) “Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination” . Racist discrimination and apartheid, so the resolution says, are a denial of human rights and fundamental freedoms and justice, as well as a violation of human dignity.

In 1979 this day of remembrance was supplemented by the invitation of the United Nations to its member states to organize an annual week of action in solidarity with opponents and victims of racism ( decision of the General Assembly (3424) as part of the first UN Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination ( 1973-1983) ).

Activities in Germany

In Germany, the activities around the International Week Against Racism and the International Day Against Racism have been coordinated by the Intercultural Council in Germany since it was founded by Jürgen Micksch in 1994 . The Intercultural Council gave suggestions for events and topics, networked active and interested parties, documented the events taking place across Germany and made the social commitment during the campaign weeks visible through press and public relations work .

Until 2007, the activities in Germany were bundled in one week. Due to the large number of events and the increasing participation, the Intercultural Council extended the period of action for the first time in 2008 and proclaimed the International Weeks Against Racism .

Foundation for the International Weeks Against Racism

On May 6, 2014, the Intercultural Council set up the Foundation for the International Weeks Against Racism (in short: Foundation against Racism). She has been planning and coordinating the annual UN Weeks against Racism since 2016. The events are compiled, evaluated and documented online in an event calendar. In addition, the foundation carries out model projects that aim to help overcome anti-Semitism, anti-gypsyism, anti-Muslim racism or racism against people of other skin color and refugees. With the “Prominent against Racism” project, recognized personalities from public life were won over to get involved in local events and to send a visible signal against racism and exclusion. Other projects are "SHOULDER TO SHOULDER" (SAS) and "Religions invite". The video competition “From my point of view” is a completed project. To this end, refugees were asked to speak about their lives and experiences in short videos they had produced.

Claudia Roth, Vice-President of the Bundestag, chairs the Board of Trustees. The executive board is Jürgen Micksch and board spokeswoman Jagoda Marinić.

materials

The Foundation against Racism prepares extensive information and mobilization materials every year for the International Weeks Against Racism. These include mobilization flyers in various languages, campaign posters, a material booklet with target group-oriented information and editorial specialist articles, target group-specific handouts and current publications on socio-political topics.

Events

Since 2001 there has been a steady increase in events during the International Weeks Against Racism. In March 2018, more than 1,750 events were documented for the first time in the project's event calendar. In March 2019 there were around 1,850 events. In addition, over 1,700 Friday prayers took place during the campaign weeks in 2019. More than two thirds of the activities were carried out in the context of event programs of the cities and municipalities. In addition, schools, adult education centers, sports clubs, religious communities, trade unions, companies, charities and local initiatives take part in the International Weeks Against Racism.

Cooperation partners and supporters

The more than 70 cooperation partners and supporters of the International Weeks Against Racism include numerous municipalities and religious communities, the German Football Association and the DOSB , trade unions and companies, the adult education centers and many other socially relevant actors: Over 90 action groups support the UN weeks as well as over 70 prominent personalities.

financing

The project is financed by public, civil society and commercial grants as well as private donations.

Activities in Europe

The Europe-wide activities for the International Weeks Against Racism have been coordinated by the pan-European network UNITED for Intercultural Action since 1993 .

See also

Web links

 Wikinews: Photo gallery: Demo "Refugees welcome!" In Vienna, March 19, 2016  - message

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 25 years of the International Weeks Against Racism. Brochure, Darmstadt 2019
  2. ↑ Upcoming Events - INTERNATIONAL WEEKS AGAINST RACISM. Retrieved August 17, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Prominent against Racism ›Foundation against Racism. Retrieved August 17, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Video competition ›Foundation against Racism. Retrieved August 17, 2017 .
  5. ↑ From my point of view - video competition. Retrieved August 17, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Heribert Prantl, There is nothing good. Unless you do it. A laudation for the day against racism. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. March 17, 2019 ( sueddeutsche.de ).
  7. ↑ Documentation - INTERNATIONAL WEEKS AGAINST RACISM 2018. (PDF) Retrieved on August 17, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Documentation - INTERNATIONAL WEEKS AGAINST RACISM 2019 (PDF).