THE ANTI-RACISM MESSAGE EMBRACED IN POLAND'S EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AHEAD OF EURO 2012
3 February 2012
A year-long pilot project, run by FARE's Polish partners Never Again, which promotes the message of respect has been deemed a success and there has been a growing interest from a number of schools, universities and other institutions, who are joining the scheme. The educational project is part of the FARE network's anti-discrimination activities around the European Championship finals, co-hosted by Poland.
The objectives of the free training sessions, including workshops and conferences, are to use the power of football in the classroom to increase teachers' understanding of anti-racist education, and to support pedagogical approaches in this area. Another aim is to make available educational materials for teachers on the prevention of discrimination, racism and xenophobia in sport. Educators are encouraged to use the material in classrooms and to reach out to pupils in the classroom with anti-discriminatory ideas and culture. The workshops focus on issues such as manifestations of racism and neo-fascism in sport and prohibited racist symbolism in Polish stadiums.
It is hoped the scheme will benefit participating schools, teachers and pupils by nurturing a greater grasp of tolerance and by teaching youngsters about anti-discrimination. In addition, schools should be encouraged to be more open and anti-discriminatory in their attitudes.
There is also a special exhibition which celebrates the multicultural aspects of Polish football, designed by the FARE network along with Never Again to promote tolerance before EURO 2012.
The scheme has been prepared specifically for the Respect Diversity project which forms part of UEFA's four-pronged Respect initiative launched ahead of UEFA EURO 2012. The curriculum is addressed at teachers and sports coaches from all types of schools and educational institutions across the co-host country.