National, Regional, Local Initiatives to Reduce Inter-Group Inequalities and to Promote Social Inclusion

Programme Summary

Why is the programme needed?  Recent years have seen an increase in extremism and racism among young people in the Czech Republic, particularly in regions suffering from high levels of unemployment. In these areas, support for extreme right wing political parties is on the rise, and hate crime incidents targeted at Roma communities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons, the Jewish community and other vulnerable minorities are having devastating effects.  What will the programme achieve?  The programme will strengthen social support for the implementation of inclusion policies and the fight against hate crimes. The programme aims to raise awareness among young people regarding the issue of hate violence, build capacity among local actors to enable effective prevention and combatting of the manifestations of extremism and racism; and support the transfer of successful social inclusion measures.  How will it be achieved?  The programme consists of a pre-defined project to be implemented by the Agency for Social Inclusion in Roma localities, which will include the following activities:  • Nationwide media campaign against racism and hate violence  • Transfer of successful social inclusion measures to vulnerable regions  • Research on moneylending and migration in vulnerable regions  • Regional educational activities in schools in the Ústecký and Moravskoslezský Regions  • Regional educational activities for the police in the Ústecký and Moravskoslezský Regions  How will bilateral relations be strengthened?  Bilateral relations will be strengthened through a planned conference on pro-inclusive education and schools against racism and hate violence. The international conference will see participation from Norwegian experts in the relevant field.  What are the partnership opportunities?  As the programme will be implemented by way of one pre-defined project only, there are no project level partnership opportunities.  Who can apply for funding under this programme?  There will be no calls for proposals under the programme.