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SPANISH STAND-UP TRAINING

The project “STAND-UP: Fighting hate in the EU” held on 26 September at the Euro-Arab Foundation headquarters the Spanish training on hate crimes and hate speech, with the participation of experts from different fields commited to the fight against hatred. The course was divided in four thematic blocks: “The phenomenon of hate and under-reporting: a victim-centred approach”; “Narratives of hate in digital contexts”; “Alternative narratives from civil society”; and “Tools for social transformation”.

The STAND-UP training has been divided into two specific trainings: one held on 12 September on the use of OSINT to monitor online hate speech imparted by Lior Mordechai from Falkor and addressed exclusively to Law Enforcement Agencies, and this one aimed to all the stakeholders and focused on more areas to fight hatred.

The course was attended by professionals from the fields of education and social work, psychology, community mediation, research and the National Police Force, and with the participation of different entities such as CEAR, Save The Children, CEPAIM Foundation, Asociación Marroquí and Granada Acoge.

The director of the European Projects at FUNDEA, Javier Ruipérez Canales, welcomed the attendees and opened the training, which began with a presentation by the director of the Instituto Confucio of the University of Granada, Isabel María Balsas Ureña, and her co-director Bu Shan, on the role of the Institute and the activities they carry out to raise awareness of Chinese culture in society.

The researcher from FUNDEA, Lucía G. del Moral, was in charge of moderating the day, giving way to the first block on the phenomenon of hate and under-reporting with a focus on the victims, and the first speaker, Ismael Cortés, member of the Congress in the 14th legislature, and his conference on access to justice and the different initiatives to tackle hate crimes from a multi-stakeholder and multi-level approach.

He was followed by María Pina and Marina Dólera from Columbares with the presentation of the project “Está en tu mano” (It’s in your hand) and a wealth of data and analysis to understand in depth the current situation regarding hate crimes. The third presentation of the block was given by Bárbara Pérez Serrano, a health psychologist, expert in gender violence and coordinator of FUNCOP (Foundation for the Training and Practice of Psychology), who explained the group psychological care services for women victims of gender violence that exist in Andalusia, and how the processes of reporting and under-reporting are.

Agenda of the STAND-UP training on 26 September

The theme of the second block was the narratives of hate in digital contexts. Carmen Aguilera Carnenero, PhD from the University of Granada, shared her analysis of the power of dissemination of Islamophobic hate speech through memes. Next, the researchers from FUNDEA José Luis Salido and Lucía G. del Moral explained the monitoring of hate they carried out in the framework of the STAND-UP project on the extreme right on 20-N and Islamophobia in social networks during the World Cup in Qatar.

The third block dealt with the alternative narratives proposed by civil society. Vanesa Martín, head of projects and new narratives at Fundación Por Causa, explained how they generate new narrative frameworks on migration that connect with audiences and change public debate. Javier Vaquero, artist and LGTBI+ activist, presented the initiative ‘La Intersección’, a research and digital strategy team dedicated to creating collective narratives and tools to stop hate on social networks.

The last block was dedicated to tools for social transformation. Óscar Negredo, coordinator of the Community Mediation service of the Llobregat City Council of Hospitalet, where they apply multi-agency strategies for the prevention of violent extremism, creating spaces to promote understanding between groups and communities, took part in it. The National Police Inspector and Delegate for Citizen Participation of the Provincial Police Station of Granada, María José Ramírez Campos, also spoke about the promotion and awareness-raising work they carry out to prevent hate crimes in this specialised unit. The last presentation was given by Jero Varas, project technician of the Melilla Acoge Association, on the project ‘OWO: Defending the space of coexistence’ focused on the prevention of attitudes and behaviours that encourage hate speech and hate crimes.

The day ended with the presentation of the book ‘The Moon is in Douala: And my destiny in knowledge‘ in the form of a dialogue between its author Sani M. Ladan and Daniel F. Pérez, researcher at the Euro-Arab Foundation. During the conversation, they highlighted the prejudices and ignorance of European society about migratory phenomena, the lack of human quality that can be found in reception centres, the importance of having racialised references, the lack of protection of migrant children who are often used as a political tool, and the pan-African identity, among other interesting reflections.

The researcher Daniel F. Pérez and the writer, activist and international analyst Sani Ladan in the presentation of his book ‘The moon is in Douala’.
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International Conference against Hate Crimes and Underreporting

On 25th September 2023, the Granada-based Euro-Arab Foundation held the International Conference against Hate Crimes and Underreporting. The Government Delegate, Inmaculada López Calahorro; the Director of Columbares, Rosa Cano Molina, and the Director of Projects and Research at Euro-Arab Foundation, Javier Ruipérez Canales, participated in the opening ceremony. The one-day conference was organized by COLUMBARES with funding from the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, and the collaboration of the Euro-Arab Foundation, the University of Murcia, and the European project STAND-UP.

Throughout the day, a multidisciplinary analysis of hate speech in our societies was carried out by expert speakers from universities, the Civil Guard, NGOs, associations, and social activists. Needs that currently exist to address these crimes were analyzed such as, among other topics, the role played by the media and social networks, the response given to this kind of crimes by associations and social organizations, as well as the approach and actions carried out by activists. The institutional attention given to these crimes by the Guardia Civil was also addressed and the Spanish Network against Hate Crimes and Infradenuncia, REDOI, was presented to the public.

Among the speakers were María Pina Castillo, coordinator of the project ‘Está en tu mano-Actúa’ (It’s on your hands: Act!); the MP Ismael Cortés Gómez, researcher in international Peace and Conflict Studies; the lecturer at the University of Granada, Carmen Aguilera Carnerero, expert in Islamophobia; the activists Sani Ladan, international analyst and migration expert; Xaby and Raffa, LGTBIQ+ activists, and Ignacio Paredero Huerta; Organizing Secretary of the LGTBI+ Spain Federation. Other speakers were the lieutenant of the Civil Guard, Benjamín Salas, and the psychologist, Mª Carmen Filigrana García, from the Federation of Gypsy Women’s Associations FAKALI; the researchers from the Euro-Arab Foundation, Lucía García del Moral, Daniel Pérez and Jose Luis Salido; the social educator María Ibáñez Palazón, from the project ‘Está en tu mano-Actúa’ and the journalist and social communicator, Natalia Díez from ‘Maldita.es’.

In 2022 there was an increase of almost 4%

In terms of the data collected by the Ministry of the Interior on an annual basis, in 2022 there was an increase of 3.7% in hate crimes compared to those recorded in 2020 and 2021. With 1869 hate crimes reported in the last year, those motivated by racism and xenophobia, sexual orientation, gender identity, and ideology stand out for their abundance.

Why are these crimes not always reported?

Considering the above data, we cannot forget the high percentage of under-reporting. According to the study carried out by Columbares in 2022, victims do not report for various reasons, including being in an irregular administrative situation, having limited financial resources, not repairing the damage, ignorance of the process, not disclosing sexual orientation, and lack of trust in the system.

You can visit the project website at:

http://estaentumano.org/i-jornadas-internacionales-contra-los-delitos-de-odio-y-la-infradenuncia/?fbclid=IwAR2NbeJE_CzlHqqzdVvNRgC_UW3qa8ECgZ_GwruLJd6DZt2ZrFbG7Cx9xpg

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The role of NHRIs in Documenting and Preventing Hate Crime

At the 23rd Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminología, which took place in Florence from September 6-9, 2023, the Greek National Commission for Human Rights (GNCHR) was represented by scientific collaborators Eva Tzavala, Katerina Charokopou, and Anastasia Chalkia. In their presentation, GNCHR representatives delved into the role of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) as crucial in monitoring and preventing hate crimes in the digital era, particularly highlighting the efforts and achievements within the framework of the STAND UP programme.

More information in Greek and photos here:

https://www.nchr.gr/en/news/1644-the-role-of-nhris-in-documenting-and-preventing-hate-crime-gnchr-at-the-annual-conference-of-the-european-society-of-criminology.html

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Book Presentation: The Moon is in Duala and My Destiny in the Knowledge

On 26th September 2023, the Euro-Arab Foundation held the presentation of the book: The Moon is in Duala and My Destiny in the Knowledge (2023, Plaza y Janes Ed.)with the participation of the author, Sani Ladan, and Daniel Pérez García, researcher at the Foundation. The event was organized in the framework of the European project STAND-UP.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Imagine that you live in a country that does not allow you to pursue the studies you need to develop as an individual. Imagine that you have no greater dream than precisely that. Try to imagine now that, at the age of fifteen, with the cold, awakened mind of the adult you project yourself to be and the heart full of the secrets and illusions of the child you still are, you run away from home with no other aim than to achieve a purpose that starts to become truncated and violent and dehumanizing from the first stop along the way.

This story, as real as the injustice in the world we live in, is mine.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sani Ladan is an African of Cameroonian origin and anti-racist and human rights activist. He has been raising awareness and working closely with the reality of migration on the southern border of Europe for almost ten years, a phenomenon that he has experienced as a person, having gone through the same migration process from Cameroon to Spain.

He is a graduate of International Relations from the Loyola University of Andalusia, an analyst of International Relations with a focus on Africa, a Social Educator, an intercultural trainer, and president of the association Elín, in Ceuta. He collaborates as an international analyst with the television channel France 24 in Spanish. He has run a home for migrants for the Espacios Berakah Association in Seville and has created the podcast Africa in 1 click.

For several years, he has been giving lectures on migration and geopolitics in Africa at various universities, anti-racist circles, and human rights organizations. He has participated as a researcher in the elaboration of several reports on migration and in 2019 he was a speaker at TEDxTarragona.