Campaign against Racism and Hate Violence

Description

In recent years, radical and racist attitudes (especially against Roma) strengthened, especially in areas with generally high unemployment rate. The main objective of the project is to strengthen social and economic cohesion at the national, regional and local level by raising socially inclusive policies and overall awareness of the problems of social exclusion and promoting greater tolerance within Czech society towards minorities and foreigners. The project will raise awareness and improve argumentative equipment for representatives of local actors in the field of social inclusion and support integration of individual measures. Young people aged 15 to 25 years will be informed about the manifestations of racism and hate crime, their argumentation skills and knowledge will be improved. Educational activities for police officers will lead to a better awareness of the phenomenon of hate crimes, their prevention and resolution. The main target groups will be young people aged 15 – 25, then children aged 10 - 15 (especially in the Ústecký and Moravskoslezský Regions), teachers, policemen and local authorities.

Summary of project results

Extreme and racist attitudes and manifestations have been getting stronger in the Czech Republic in the recent years. In summer 2013, several radical protests targeting Roma community in a number of Czech cities and towns appeared. Street protests were accompanied by intensive manifestations of hate on the Internet and by spreading hoaxes.These events underlined the need for sustained and effective communication campaign.The project was originally aimed at reducing hate speech towards fragile minorities, especially Roma. During the project implementation, developments in 2015 – Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015 and Mediterranean migration wave – changed the public opinion rapidly. The fear from terrorist attacks converted into islamophobia.The most visible part of the project – campaign Hate Free Culture – became nationally recognized social label promoting tolerance among social groups. The social media website page www.facebook.com/hatefreeculture with daily moderated discussion on inclusion of fragile minorities reached over 50,000 fans and almost 1,000,000 reactions were given on the content during peak phases. The website www.hatefree.cz with over 300,000 unique visitors has become one of the most valuable resources of topical information for Czech media and wide population.The project managed to create so called Hate Free Zones, i.e. public places promoting tolerance. More than 280 Hate Free Zones such as e.g. galleries, cafes, embassies and public institutions originated in the Czech Republic. With 978 TV spots and 2 634 radio spots, the campaign especially focused on young people under 25, many times exceeded the original scope. The awareness of local players in the area of social inclusion was enhanced and different stakeholders in Ústecký and Moravskoslezský Regions were educated about risks of intolerance and hate violence. Altogether 770 local actors in both regions were trained in the processes of how to face racism and hate violence – 257 police officers, 20 school mediators, 81 peer mediators, 170 teachers and 242 different local actors. At ten schools, both teachers and pupils learned to master techniques to help people in conflict to a mutually agreeable agreement. Another new unique website www.dobrepraxe.cz promoting good practices of social inclusion at the local level was established.

Summary of bilateral results