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Master Class Against Racism for high school students from Karlsruhe, Liege, and Nancy
In her opening speech, Patricia Daguerre-Jacque, Nancy’s Deputy Delegate for Gender Equality, Anti-Discrimination, and Human Rights explained the city’s strong commitment to anti-racism, and the related efforts that have been developed. The city’s role as Vice-President of the European Coalition of Cities Against Racism (ECCAR) underlines this commitment.
Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO, delivered the keynote address, affirming that:
High school students from Nancy and its sister cities, Liege (Belgium) and Karlsruhe (Germany), looked into concrete solutions to implement in their schools and daily lives. The three cities are active members of ECCAR which is a part of UNESCO’s International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities (ICCAR).
Evelyne Heyer, Professor of Genetic Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History, explained to students that the notion of “race” is not biologically nor genetically legitimate. As the source of watertight social categories which are attributed moral or ideological value, and often the foundation of discriminatory thoughts, it is in fact more problematic than anything else.
The students of Jeanne d’Arc High School will opt to post videos raising awareness about racism on their school’s YouTube channel. Others will learn about the subjective nature of statistics, which are generally considered to be objective, indisputable facts, despite being the products of social environments which are biased and often racist.
Amnesty International’s Catherine Devaux educated students on strategies and priorities to adopt. She presented diverse examples of activism in order to inspire their engagement in the future.
The Master Class series, launched in 2019 by UNESCO, allows young high school students to familiarize themselves with and understand the causes of racism and discrimination in a dynamic and interactive way. Students learn to identify racist and discriminatory practices, behaviors, and/or discourse in their immediate context, with the aim of becoming change agents in their communities, schools, and families. The series is part of the Roadmap Against Racism that UNESCO is currently developing.
