What “Is it racism?” is all about?
The campaign “IS IT RACISM?” calls upon us to broaden our perceptions of racism in order to begin to cultivate a culture of challenging all forms of racism that we encounter in our daily lives.
Until now, the public debate in Greece has focused mainly on violent racist attacks, given the increase in extreme and organized acts of racist violence. The landmark court decision on 07/10/2020 gave a clear message of condemnation of the criminal activity of Golden Dawn and consequently of the most extreme manifestations of racism and racist violence. However, racism is not only associated with extreme or even organized crime, but also with everyday, casual, common, covert or not, racist behaviors.
Their normalization, as well as the tolerance of society as a whole towards them, establish the basis on which the most violent racist manifestations are built.
Therefore, the purpose of this campaign is to familiarize us with concepts, to highlight various forms of racism through stories and to inform us on how we can take a stand in the face of racist behavior and the available tools to support people who are on the receiving end of racism.
Partnership
The two organizations collaborated as a whole on the creation of the campaign. However, based on each organization’s expertise, Generation 2.0 for Rights, Equality & Diversity mainly undertook the production of the campaign content. The content came from a desk research and two focus groups with people who experience racism as well as people who are bystanders to racist incidents.
Solomon took part in the focus groups as observer, produced the videos and the created the campaign’s website.
We would also like to thank the Racist Violence Recording Network for their support during the process of the content produstion.
Generation for Rights, Equality and Diversity
Generation 2.0 RED is an initiative launched by a group of young people with migrant origins. Operating as an informal group as far back as 2006, referred to as ‘Second Generation’, our mission was focused on securing the right to citizenship for the otherwise invisible generation of children, born and or raised in Greece from migrant backgrounds. Today, Generation 2.0 RED is a nonprofit organisation and consists of an interdisciplinary team, representing a mix of ethnicities and social backgrounds, sharing the common vision that all of us have the right to equal and active citizenry on an individual and communal level. Generation 2.0 RED’s mission focuses on individual and community empowrement, equal participation in a diverse society following a holistic approach with action and research, aiming to promote human rights, equality and diversity and fight against racism, xenophobia and discrimination.
Solomon
Solomon is a non-profit organization founded in Athens which uses media as a tool for social inclusion and change. We bring people from different backgrounds to the forefront. We aim to build bridges among our communities, and work together to create a safe environment for the exchange of ideas and dialogs regarding the issues that matter to us and effect our lives. We face the elephant in the room head-on, and seek a better understanding of the issues that are being ignored.