Mix Cities
Cities Against Racism
New Challenges - New Partnerships: Shaping our Future

After the end of World War II and the breakdown of the National Socialist reign of terror, many people in Europe hoped that racism, hatred and violence would never again have a chance. This hope has not been fulfilled. Experience in recent years has demonstrated clearly that we again have reason for concern: the pestilence of racism has started spreading anew all over Europe. Radical rightwing attitudes, and extreme rightwing ideologies which insist on the inequality of human beings are no longer a marginal phenomenon, but have now become deeply rooted in some parts of European society. Everyday racism and racially motivated violence have become bitter reality in most European countries. The victims are predominantly asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and members of ethnic or religious minorities. A survey, published recently by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, reveals that discrimination, harassment and racially motivated violence against ethnic minority and immigrant groups are far more widespread in the EU than recorded in official statistics. And since the European elections of 7 June, 2009, right-wing extremist parties have been represented more strongly than ever in the European Parliament. They used xenophobic slogans and discriminatory remarks about Muslims to try to boost their share of the vote. These are troubling developments.

The struggle against racism, discrimination and xenophobia must, therefore, be a top priority in our policies. Cities play a particularly important role in combating these evils because of their close relationship with their residents, their autonomy in decision making, and their capacity to take meaningful action that responds to concrete problems on the ground. Cities are, therefore, the right place to counteract racism and discrimination effectively and to create new ways of living together. For only if we tackle these evils at source can we hope to root them out.

The 2009 General Conference of the "European Coalition of Cities Against Racism", hosted by the City of Toulouse, aimed at developing best strategies for cities to combat racism and discrimination on the basis of the "Ten-Point-Plan of Action". The conference programme included a Round Table and five working groups, one of them  was organised as a youth forum.  The Round Table was intended to discuss new challenges and partnerships in the struggle against racism including both representatives of minority groups and of cities. Two working groups dealt with the question of how the "Ten-Point-Plan of Action" can be implemented in concrete terms. For this reason, practical examples, particularly in the areas of employment and housing as well as in participation and information of citizens, were intended to provide participants with ideas and suggestions on possible action. Two further working groups dealt with the main challenges cities are facing today, for example the problems arising from the dilemma between local policies on promoting social cohesion and state policies on security, as well as how to combat rightwing extremism at a municipal level.

Dr. Hans Hesselmann
President of ECCAR