Gavan Titley

Rui Gomes

Patricia Brander

Anca-Ruxandra Pandea

Laure de Witte

An invaluable education pack proposing resources and activities for education and action with young people against racism and discrimination 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.

Laure de Witte

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