2003/11/18

Dialogues against Racism

Social Watch

On November 18 Ibase organized the IV Dialogues against Racism that brought together forty civil society organizations. Actions that have proven effective in the combat against racial preconception in the country were introduced and ways were discussed to engage institutions, businesses and people in a single permanent coordination.

During the event, films, testimonies and affirmative action cases were introduced that are being reproduced in all the country (in business, media, schools, government agencies and universities). A research listed 124 initiatives in ten Brazilian capitals, in which education (30%) and income generation (20%) are the main sectors that get this type of action.

The first session of the Dialogues against Racism took place in 2001 and were based on the premise that the problem of racial preconception (invisible for many, mainly for those who do not suffer it) should be addressed by the Brazilian society as a whole – and not only by the afrodescendants and their organizations. On that occasion, the discussions were organized around the III UN World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Connected Forms of Intolerance, which took place in Durban (South Africa) in September 2001.

The dialogues addressed issues such as the launch of a national campaign to end racism, the monitoring of governmental actions and the organization of public demonstrations. The discussions were carried out at the Cultural Centre of the Bank of Brazil (CCBB). The activities were open to all interested parties and will have continuity in various Brazilian cities.

Organizers:

Observatório da Cidadania, Ibase, Abong, Afro Centro de Estudos Afro-Brasileiros-UCAM, Criola-Rio, Cfêmea, Comunidade Bahaí (Brasília), Fase (Rio), Instituto Patricia Galvão/AMB (SP), CESEC-UCAM (Rio), Rede Dawn (Rio), CEDEC (SP), Geledés/Instituto da Mulher Negra (SP), Inesc (Brasília), Redeh (Rio), SOS Corpo (Recife).

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