Bologna meeting of European Coalition of Cities against Racism

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The Second General Conference of the European Coalition of Cities against Racism will be held in Bologna (Italy) from 18 to 20 September. Entitled “DiverCity: European Cities for an Inclusive Society”, the meeting provides the opportunity for participants – including young people involved in a joint project of the European Coalition, FC Barcelona and UNESCO – to formulate recommendations to fight discrimination in everyday life.

Organized by the European Coalition of Cities against Racism (ECCAR) and the city of Bologna, in cooperation with UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences sector, the Second Conference will be opened at 5 p.m. by Sergio Cofferati, Mayor of Bologna; Pierre Sané, Assistant-Director General of UNESCO for Social and Human Sciences; and Hans Hesselman, President of ECCAR.

A roundtable on the subject of “Mayors against Racism and Discrimination: Challenges – Strategies – Progress” will be held on the same day, from 5.30 to 7.30 p.m.

The next day, various working groups will debate the following issues: Muslim Communities in European Cities: Fighting Discrimination; Sinti and Roma Communities in European Cities: Fighting Discrimination; Implementation of the Ten Point Plan of Action: Presentation of Practical Examples; Analyzing the Local Situation, Developing Strategies and Evaluating their Impact.

One of the working groups, the youth forum “Youth Voices against Racism,” will mark an important stage in a project launched by FC Barcelona, UNESCO and ECCAR, in partnership with the European Parliament last spring. It aims to provide practical suggestions for fighting discrimination in sport, through physical and sports education.

Young people aged 15 to 18 have rallied in several ECCAR member cities to draw up recommendations to this effect. Local consultations were held from June to August 2008. Each city chose two representatives from among the participating youths to attend the conference in Bologna. They will discuss and develop the recommendations they formulated over the summer before presenting them in November 2008 to the European Parliament.

Recommendations made by the different working groups, including the Youth Forum, will be presented on 20 September (10 a.m. to noon) at the closing of the conference.

The Coalition of Cities against Racism was launched by UNESCO in March 2004 to form a network to share experiences and improve approach to the fight against racism, discrimination and xenophobia. Coalitions were established in all the regions of the world to take into account their different specific characteristics. The European Coalition of Cities against Racism (ECCAR), which now numbers 80 cities in 17 countries, was the first regional coalition to be founded (Nurenberg, Germany, in December 2004, at the Fourth European Conference of Cities for Human Rights). The International Coalition of Cities against Racism, bringing together the regional coalitions, was launched last June at the 3rd World Forum on Human Rights (Nantes, France).

• Author(s):Media Advisory N°2008-58
• Source:UNESCOPRESS
• 17-09-2008