ODIHR's WiA project newsletter

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2 MARCH 2021 | NEWSLETTER NO. 1

ODIHR's Turning Words into Action to Address Intolerance (WiA) project contributes to making societies across the OSCE region more equal, inclusive, resilient and free from all forms of discrimination.

The project aims to help turn OSCE participating States’ commitments on addressing intolerance into action by providing government officials, parliamentarians and civil society with the knowledge and skills they need to do so effectively.

Building on an earlier project – Turning Words into Action to Address Anti-Semitism, implemented by ODIHR in 2016-2019 – the WIA project maintains the focus on preventing and responding to anti-Semitism while broadening the scope to also address other forms of intolerance and discrimination.

This overarching objective will be achieved through the project’s priority areas of addressing the security needs of minority communities, countering intolerance through education, and fostering coalition building among civil society organizations. The WIA project is implemented across the entire OSCE region with generous funding by the Government of Canada, Germany, the United States as well as other participating States.

2 MARCH 2021 | NEWSLETTER NO. 1

Security, education and civil society

As part of the WIA project, ODIHR works with security and educational institutions across the OSCE region to provide effective responses to anti-Semitism, intolerance against Muslims, racism, xenophobia and discrimination. In the area of security, the WIA project facilitates co-operation between governments and civil society, gives guidance on the provision of security for minority communities and offers capacity-building initiatives for criminal justice bodies, security institutions and government agencies. Particular attention is given to strengthening legislation, policies and practices to combat hate crime. In the education component, the project will develop educational materials and raise awareness among policymakers of the importance of education to counter anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance an discrimination.

The WIA project also builds the capacity of civil society organizations to address intolerance and discrimination and combat hate crime, including through supporting their efforts to forge effective civil society coalitions. Activities in this area include training on hate crime identification and reporting, and providing technical tools to record, monitor and report hate crimes.

2 MARCH 2021 | NEWSLETTER NO. 1

Publications developed and supported by WiA in 2020:

Addressing Anti-Semitism in Schools: Training Curricula in English

Addressing Anti-Semitism through Education - Guidelines for Policymakers in Turkish

Holocaust Memorial Days in the OSCE region: 2020 Participating State reports and annexes

Addressing Anti-Semitism through Education: Teaching Aids in Russian, German, Polish and French

Understanding Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes - Addressing the Security Needs of Muslim Communities: A Practical Guide in German and French

Anti-Christian Hate Crime Factsheet in Bosnian, German, Italian, and Ukrainian

Anti-Muslim Hate Crime Factsheet in Norwegian

2 MARCH 2021 | NEWSLETTER NO. 1

Highlights from 2020

Addressing Anti-Semitism in Schools: Training Curricula

Schools and teachers can play a significant role in raising young people’s awareness of anti-Semitism and in building their capacity to counter the narratives and toxic ideologies that drive discrimination and hatred. They also have a duty to ensure that educational environments are inclusive and safe for Jewish and all students. For education to fulfil its role in addressing anti-Semitism and all forms of intolerance, specific school management policies, practical guidance and educational curricula must be in place. ODIHR once again joined forces with UNESCO and launched a four-volume publication on Addressing Anti-Semitism in Schools: Training Curricula, developed with the support of the University College London (UCL) Centre for Holocaust Education.

A comprehensive and practical resource, the curricula can be used to train primary, secondary, vocational education teachers and school directors to address anti-Semitism and counter prejudice while promoting human rights, global citizenship education and gender equality.

In 2021, ODIHR plans further translations of its educational resources, which will be presented and shared during meetings with educational stakeholders to exchange good practices in addressing anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination in education. The Office will also continue to support states in implementing its materials in schools and education systems across the OSCE region.

A recording of the publication launch and discussion can be watched here.

“School directors and teachers are in a unique position to challenge dangerous misconceptions and anti-Semitic tropes. To do this well, they need and deserve support, direction, and first-rate resources. This new curriculum aims to empower them with the necessary knowledge to recognize anti-Semitism in its many guises and to act.”

Ruth-Anne Lenga, Associate Professor (Teaching)
and Programme Director, UCL Centre for Holocaust Education

2 MARCH 2021 | NEWSLETTER NO. 1

Highlights from 2020

Consultative meeting: Identifying good practices in addressing hate crime, discrimination intolerance and other challenges to community security during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and its implications on societies across the OSCE region have added new layers of complexity to addressing the security challenges facing minority communities. The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on already marginalized groups, in particular ethnic and national minorities and certain religious or belief communities. These new challenges include, for instance, an increase in threats and violent attacks, the proliferation of conspiracy theories and the scapegoating of minority groups, who have been unjustly blamed for the spread of the virus.

In co-operation with the Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience at the Rutgers Institute for Secure Communities, ODIHR organized a consultative meeting with practitioners from law enforcement, local authorities, civil society and academia to share experiences and good practices in addressing these and other COVID-19-related challenges.

The consultative meeting discussion resulted in a compilation of initiatives and good practices that ODIHR and the Miller Center will further develop into training and awareness-raising programmes and share across the OSCE area in 2021.

"The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has added new security challenges for minority communities, including spikes in online and offline threats, an abundance of conspiracy theories and the scapegoating of already marginalized groups. Without equal access to COVID-19 vaccines, these groups face further discrimination in the immediate future. Our consultative meeting with ODIHR provided an unparalleled opportunity to identify good practices in addressing these challenges, including by building the capacity of police and strengthening trust among minority communities and law enforcement, in order to combat novel security challenges even more effectively in the future."

Richard Benson, OBE, Fellow, Rutger's Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience

2 MARCH 2021 | NEWSLETTER NO. 1

Upcoming events and activities

STAY TUNED

11 March 2021 - Online event: Raising Awareness and Building Effective Communication between Law Enforcement and the Jewish Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina – organized by OSCE/ODIHR, WJC & OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina;
24 March 2021 - Online event: Raising Awareness and Building Effective Communication between Law Enforcement and the Jewish Community in Serbia – organized by OSCE/ODIHR, WJC & OSCE Mission to Serbia;
Tbd March - Online workshop: Initiating Inter-Agency Co-operation on Addressing Hate Crime in Cyprus;
Tbd April - Online Training: Recognizing Hate Crimes and Supporting Hate Crime Victims - with the Athens Bar Association;
Tbd May - Online event: Raising Awareness and Building Effective Communication between Law Enforcement and the Jewish Community in Croatia – organized by OSCE/ODIHR & WJC.

The Words into Action to Address Intolerance project will be issuing newsletters every two months.

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Turning Words into Action to Address Intolerance

tel.: +48 22 520 0600 | fax: +48 22 520 0605 | e-mail: WordsintoAction@odihr.pl |web:www.osce.org/project/wia

ul. Miodowa 10 | 00-251 Warsaw, Poland

The WIA project is implemented across the entire OSCE region with generous funding by the Government of Canada, Germany, the United States as well as other participating States.