It is easy to say, “I have no prejudices”, or, “I’m not racist, so it has nothing to do with me”. It is much harder to say, “I may not be to blame for what happened in the past but I want to take responsibility for making sure it doesn’t continue in the future”.
Many young people in Europe, and beyond, defied the pandemic and took to the streets in 2020 to express their sorrow and their anger in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis at the hands of a white policeman. This also served as a wake-up call to the daily, systemic and sometimes structural forms of racial discrimination which are visible across Europe, expressed in hate speech or outright physical violence, and which target people on the basis of their characteristics or identity, including age, colour of skin, disability, ethnicity, gender, legal status, nationality, origin, “race”, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation.
Youth leaders and human rights activists turned to the Council of Europe, the guardian of human rights in Europe, for responses, support and, in particular, what the youth sector could propose. A consultation with youth workers and specialists in human rights education concluded that part of the response has to be educational. The rise of populist, nationalist and xenophobic ideas and discourse must also be countered through democratic citizenship and human rights education, including anti-racism education and intercultural learning. Education remains an important antidote to racism and prejudice.
This manual was originally produced in 1995 for the European youth campaign against racism, antisemitism, xenophobia and intolerance. It has been updated and extended to reflect the kaleidoscope of racial discrimination in Europe today and the mutations of racist discourses and ideologies. It contains basic information and hands-on non-formal education methodologies for supporting young people in learning about and addressing prejudice and its impact on people and societies.
Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction
All Different - All Equal today
Chapter 1 - Key concepts and rationale for understanding and acting against racism and discrimination
Challenges, problems and their origins
The challenge of "understanding" racism and discrimination
Forms and expressions of discrimination
Our responses
Legal responses: the human rights framework
The educational response
Chapter 2 - Activities and methods for education and action against racism and discriminationIntroduction to the activitiesSynoptic table of activitiesChapter 3 - Combating racism in Europe today
Introduction - From All Different - All Equal to Black Lives Matter
Gavan Titley
Confronting racism: denial and resistance
Introduction to Part I
Our Colonialist pasts, our institutions today
Domenica Ghidei Biidu (European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance)
They tell us there is no racism, yet "race" is all over the place
Interview with Rokhaya Diallo
An anti-racism in Europe?
Alana Lentin
Understanding racisms: change and continuity
The shape of contemporary islamophobia and its specific effects on young Muslims political and associative life
Hande Taner
Border politics and queer asylum seekers
Hasti Hamidi
Anti-racisms: future youth work responses and directions
The kaleidoscope of youth-related racism, inequalities and discrimination
Barbaba Giovanna Bello
Roma youth civic and political participation in Europe
Simona Toroţcoi
Reclaim! Renew! Re-politicise! Making intercultural learning great again!
Yael Ohana
