'NEVER AGAIN' SUPPORTS AN EXCHANGE OF IDEAS ON ANTI-DISCRIMINATION IN UKRAINE AND RUSSIA
14 February 2016
Experiences and ideas have been shared by members of the 'NEVER AGAIN' Association during a series of events in Ukraine and Russia in February.
The anti-racist educational campaigns of the 'NEVER AGAIN' Association in the field of culture, including music and sports, were met with particular interest. The audiences were comprised of ethnic minority and human rights activists, journalists, researchers, representatives of international organizations and officials. In total several hundred people participated in the meetings and many copies of 'NEVER AGAIN' Association publications were distributed.
The events in Kiev (on 8-9 February) and Dnepropetrovsk (on 11 February) were organized in frames of the Eastern Partnership programme of the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) in cooperation with the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ministry of Culture. They were attended by participants from various Ukrainian regions as well as Belarus, Moldova and Georgia. The goal of the ECMI Eastern Partnership programme is to enhance governance and to advance policies on the prevention of ethnic discrimination according to European best practices.
The seminar in Kiev was held in the premises of the National Parliamentary Library and the conference in Dnepropetrovsk took place at the Menorah Centre, the world's biggest multi-functional Jewish cultural centre (which includes the Museum of Jewish Memory and the Holocaust). Dr Rafal Pankowski, a co-founder of the 'NEVER AGAIN' Association and Professor of Sociology at Collegium Civitas, was a keynote speaker during both events.
On 12 February, Rafal Pankowski represented 'NEVER AGAIN' at an expert discussion on the trans-national challenges of nationalism and populism organized by the Heinrich Boell Foundation at the Impact Hub Moscow centre in frames of 'The New Green EU-Russia Talks.' The seminar participants came from Russia, Germany, Finland and Hungary.
The 'NEVER AGAIN' Association was also represented, and its materials distributed, at the Annual International Conference on Jewish Studies held in Moscow from 31 January till 2 February. The conference brought together dozens of researchers from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Latvia, Israel, USA and Germany.
- 'We are not in the business of international power politics, but we are always keen to contribute to intercultural dialogue and peace efforts, we have a long record of cooperation with civil society groups across Eastern Europe' - said Rafal Pankowski. 'Big events such as Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine or the forthcoming 2018 World Cup in Russia pose a challenge as well as a chance to promote tolerance. We are happy to support any positive initiatives, especially in the field of culture and anti-racist education.'
The 'NEVER AGAIN' Association is an independent anti-racist educational and monitoring organization established in 1996. In 2012, it implemented the 'Respect Diversity' social responsibility project accompanying the European Football Championships in Poland and Ukraine. 'NEVER AGAIN' has set up the East Europe Monitoring Centre documenting racism, antisemitism and xenophobia across the region.
More information:
www.facebook.com/respect.diversity
www.twitter.com/StowNIGDYWIECEJ
www.nigdywiecej.org
Rafal Pankowski's book 'Racism in Popular Culture' (available from Stratum Publishing House, Moldova, in Russian only):
https://www.e-anthropology.com/English/Catalog/Anthropology/Pankowski.aspx
