Online Workshop Star E held by Jeunesse et Reconstruction/ICYE France on June, 24th 2020 in Paris. The meeting with multipliers was planned since Februay 2020, but because of the Covid19 pandemic, it has been a on-going postponed project since then. At the end of April 2020 Jeunesse et Reconstruction decided to offer an online workshop and after many preparations the first succesful multiplier workshop finally could take place on June 24th!
• programme overview
Part 1: Anti-racism work and empowerment training
– 10.00 am reception of participants
– 10.15 – 10.30 presentation of the programme and the Star E project
– 10.30 – 11.00 Introductory questions and sharing of concepts
– 11:00 to 11:15 break
Part 2 Presentation of the Training Manual and Online Practice of 2 Methods
– 11.15-11.30 Presentation of the publication: “Together against racism”.
– 11.30 to 12.30 Activities “Static or in motion” and “Take a stand”.
– 12.30 – 13.00 Questions, conclusion of the session
Jeunesse et Reconstruction (ICYE France) held the online workshop to introduce the handbook “Standing Together against Racism in Europe” (translated in “S’unir contre le racism en Europe”) which was a result and publication produced together with 9 European partners in the STAR E project.
The workshop was aimed at organisations interested in tools and methods to discuss discrimination, violence and racism with their staff and volunteers in order to learn new methods to fight racism and discriminations.
9 people including the organizers got together. The workshop was originally designed as a longer face to face meeting, but was transferred into an online workshop due to the coronavirus situation. The meeting took place in Zoom and in French.
The meeting began with introductions and familiarising oneself with the STAR E project. A zoom round explored the first relevant questions:
– Why is it important to stand against racism?
– How racism and violence are nested?
– Is there a right art to be anti-racist – i.e. non-violent anti-racism?
Thereafter two of the 16 methods described in the blue training handbook were tested in practice activating all the participants to engage in these methods created to facilitate greater tolerance and thereby limiting acts of racism.
The first method to be tested was the ‘Take a step forward’ which makes participants take on roles and originally move forward depending on their chances and opportunities in life. The method has been adapted for an online workshop. The activity was successful, sparking good discussions in the field of cultural differences and brought further reflections to the participants. This method allows to feel how non-equality leads to non-opportunity and how the conditions that we even not have chosen have their relevance.
The second method to be demonstrated in practice was the ‘where do you stand?’ which offers participants to stand up for their opinions. This method also had been adapted to the online workshop: Every participant had 10 minutes to fill a google form with statements as basis for further discussions.
The workshop ended with an overview of methods from the training handbook followed by a group discussion of applicability although as webinar. The participants found the workshop well-structured and informative. Several participants saw an advantage in utilising the methods and would like to organise internally this kind of workshop with or without the support of Jeunesse et Reconstruction (ICYE France).
This workshop is viewed to be a contributing factor in the effort to minimise racism in Europe by advocating tolerance and inclusive behaviour. Many thanks to ICJA (ICYE Germany) and the others partners for adapting and making available the online possibilities to moderate and animate such an online workshop. Jeunesse et Reconstruction (ICYE France) is thankful for the opportunity to take part in the important struggle against racism in Europe.