CONFERENCE REPORT MERGING PARALLEL SOCIETIES: TOOLKIT TO UNITE

UNITED Conference • 15-20 October 2011 in (MK)

MERGING PARALLEL SOCIETIES

TOOLKIT TO UNITE Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia - 3 -

1 A Platform for Action 3 1.1 Our Hosts 2 Macedonia: A Land in Transition 3 2.1 The Framework Agreement 2.2 Perpetuating Parallels 2.3 Opening Up the Debate: Minority Voices 2.4 Working with Words 2.5 Census-consensus 2.6 Elections and the Long Road to Democracy 3 Roll Up Your Sleeves: Merging Parallel Societies 5 3.1 Making Our Mark at Every Level 3.2 Field Work In Struga 3.3 Concrete Steps for Peace 3.4 Breaking Down Walls In Schools 4 Our Freedoms Under Attack: Responses in a Time of Crisis 6 4.1 Nationalism and Populism: Playing the Blame Game 4.2 Homophobia: Seeking Solidarity 4.3 Russia: When Online Meets Offline 4.4 Greece: Times of Crisis 5 Media Literacy: Navigating a Sea of Messages 7 5.1 Identifying the Bias 5.2 Perfecting Your Press Release 5.3 Images in Focus 6 Pulling Together for Minority Rights 8 6.1 Minority Rights Network 6.2 A Decade Against Discrimination? 7 On The Run – Where to Turn? 9 7.1 Internally Displaced Persons: Learning From the Local 7.2 Shapeshifting at EU Borders 8 The Logistics Of Activism: Getting Things to Run Smoothly 10 8.1 Toolkit to Connect 8.2 UNITED Against Racism 8.3 Youth Inter-Action 8.4 Broadening Our Horizons 8.5 Fund-raising: a Denar for Your Thoughts 9 Closing the Conference 12 9.1 Facing the Future 9.2 Last but not least, thank you! 10 Conference Program 13 11 List of Participating Organisations 14 Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia - 3 -

1 A PLATFORM FOR ACTION On 15 – 20 October 2011, antiracist activists from across Europe gathered together in Struga, Macedonia for 5 days of networking, learning, brainstorming and strategising, with the common goal of creating a stronger presence for the international movement. The topic of the conference – “Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite” - was chosen with Macedonia’s particular situation in mind, because it is a country where different minority communities live without coming in contact with each other. Macedonia suffers from interethnic tensions and smaller communities, such as the Roma, are often neglected in the face of tensions between the larger groups. This is a worrying situation and it is not helping the move from a multicultural society (where communities live side by side) to an intercultural one (where communities live with each other). An international conference that brings 83 organisations from 30 countries was therefore especially important. It brought together Macedonian activists and those from all over Europe to be an example of intercultural collaboration and inspire, and hopefully help, the Macedonian activists and those within the antidiscrimination movement to continue their important work as they try to bridge the gap and reconnect their societies.

1.1 OUR HOSTS This conference was organised with the help of many of these Macedonian activists and three partner organisations: the Centre for Intercultural Dialogue and the Multi-Kulti Youth Centre in , and the Initiative for Social Change in . UNITED conferences have been held in many different countries, and this would not be possible without its local partners. The Centre for Intercultural Dialogue (CID) was formed in 2006 by young people for young people and actively works on the issue of interethnic dialogue. Its mission is to promote and support intercultural understanding and cooperation as well as active youth participation through educational activities and events.CID provides non-formal education activities for different community groups in order to support them to become active citizens especially in creating intercultural sensitive policies. The organisation also supports the development of volunteering and it is part of bigger national and international youthwork networks. Multikulti Youth Centre is the only youth centre in Kumanovo. Through youth programmes and extracurricular activities, it offers young people from different ethnic backgrounds opportunities to socialise with peers from outside their own ethnic groups. Multikulti offers many activities that promote tolerance and improve youth relations in Kumanovo, open to everyone from 6-18 years old. The main aim of all Multikulti activities is to facilitate intercultural dialogue and promote active youth participation for an inclusive democratic society. Initiative for Social Change is an association of citizens and is human rights oriented, seeking to empower disadvantaged communities to work for their own interests. It has three main programmes: Roma rights advocacy, empowerment, and networking. The initiative has monitored the activities of the Roma decade in Macedonia, helped the government implement its suggestions, informed the Roma about this year’s census, pushed for the implementation of anti-discrimination legislation and is active in anti-poverty networks.

2 MACEDONIA: A LAND IN TRANSITION

2.1 THE OHRID FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT A State Adviser from the Secretariat for Implementation of Ohrid Framework Agreement gave a presentation of the complicated political past of Macedonia and its current situation under the Agreement. Macedonia’s split from Yugoslavia happened without bloodshed, but ten years later a conflict erupted between different communities. The majority of the population are Macedonians (64.2%), but there is a large Albanian minority (25.2%). There are also many other minorities, including Turks, , Roma and others. The Albanian minority had for years tried to get full rights on equal terms with the other nations in Yugoslavia - and later Macedonia - which culminated in a conflict in in 2001. The conflict was ended with the Ohrid Framework Agreement, signed at - where our UNITED conference also took place. The agreement promotes the concept of equal citizenship over the preferential status formerly given to ethnic Macedonians. Among other things, this has meant that minorities now have the right to education in their own language, and official communication from authorities now needs to be in minority languages as well as Macedonian, provided that at least 20% of a community speak that language. However, the implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement is going slowly, and the language requirement has actually turned out to divide citizens, as we shall see later. - 4 - Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia - 5 -

2.2 PERPETUATING PARALLELS A delegate from Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution explained the lived realities of parallel societies, where there is a tendency to view people as members of their ethnic group rather than simply individuals, creating barriers. It also fortifies collective identity as opposed to personal identity, which in turn increases the risk that people will be more prone to degrade other groups in order to build self-esteem. There are political parties in the country who play on this and deepen divisions for their own political benefit. Unfortunately, a study conducted this year by the Municipal Commission On Inter-Ethnic Relations showed that half of the population is concerned or very much concerned that there will be an ethnic conflict. On the other hand, almost 73% of respondents realised that leaders of political parties were not good role models for multiculturalism, so people do actually see through their games.

2.3 OPENING UP THE DEBATE: MINORITY VOICES Another provision in the Ohrid Framework Agreement is the creation of minority committees, discussed in the workshop “Political Participation of Diverse Groups”. The committees’ aim is to ensure that the minorities’ voices are heard. They do not have power as such, but theycangive recommendations, and should be consulted on potentially sensitive issues to avoid tensions. However, there are several problems: without real power, the authorities do not always consult them or follow their recommendations. There is a democratic issue as well; committee members are not elected, but usually appointed by the municipality. For the moment, they represent the first stages of awareness-raising among minorities in Macedonia.

2.4 WORKING WITH WORDS Geopolitical context and personal background influences our every experience and our interpretations of all we see around us. “Multiculturalism”, according to some participants, is a buzzword in Macedonia, however the country’s different communities are often deeply divided. “Tolerance” similarly can be seen to have negative and positive aspects. In Macedonia, it mostly means being aware of other groups, but interaction and acceptance are still some way away. “The Danger Of Words”, a session early on in the programme, aimed to make participants aware of the fact that not everybody uses the same words in the same way. It served as an introduction to the topics and terms of the conference, as well as the participants’ work. They were very eager to share interesting cases - so much so that some of them continued the session into their free time.

2.5 CENSUS-CONSENSUS Because the Ohrid Framework Agreement carries certain rights for minorities that make up at least 20% of a community, counting citizens is directly connected to achieving rights and benefits. As much of the rest the world, Macedonia had a census earlier this year, and this was the focus of a workshop facilitated by a delegate from the Macedonian NGO HCRA. The census was only partially carried out before being cancelled because of disagreement on the surveying methodology. As the census was registering ethnicity, there were political interests to increase/downplay the numbers of certain groups. In other words the lack of political consensus played a part in stopping the census. Other information could have potentially been used by parties for their own agenda and discriminatory policy-making. This illustrates the need to stay informed about the intentions of the people in power.

2.6 ELECTIONS AND THE LONG ROAD TO DEMOCRACY A representative from theOSCE Mission to Skopje gave a presentation entitled “Elections and Nationalism”. One of the main objectives of the Ohrid Framework Agreement was the creation and strengthening of local democracy by ensuring representation of all the different communities (ethnic groups). Observers from many NGOs contribute to the transparency of the elections. In order to improve the electoral process OSCE/ODIHR has issued recommendations after the 2011 Early Parliamentary Elections. These refer to measures for ensuring an adequate separation of state and party structures, a thorough voter list audit, and clarification of certain provisions in the Electoral Code, including the Out-of-Country Voting. A major challenge is that the political system is still to a large extent determined by ethnicity rather than ideology - the parties are ethnic parties. This augments the risk of ethnic conflicts, which is precisely what the Ohrid Framework Agreement was supposed to solve. “Dialogue is the best and the only tool to prevent and resolve problems,” he concluded. A delegate from the Community Development Institute also spoke about the electoral process, viewing Election Day as one when everyone is equal, because everybody’s vote counts the same. Participants were urged to see that it is important that civil society organisations are active in elections as watchdogs, in mobilising citizens to vote, and in providing information to them. Monitoring is needed of the election campaign, the election day itself, of the financing of the political parties etc. Voters can be motivated through field campaigns, media campaigns, public events, debates, workshops and discussions. And citizens can be informed about the legal framework, voting procedures, their rights as voters and any current national issues. - 4 - Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia - 5 -

ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES: 3 MERGING PARALLEL SOCIETIES

3.1 MAKING OUR MARK AT EVERY LEVEL The info market, a space for organisations to share their material, projects and good practice with each other, was opened by Richard Howitt MEP and European Parliament Rapporteur who is involved in the process of Macedonia’s EU candidature. He emphasised the fact that defending human rights is a responsibility and obligation, and that any tool kit to merge parallel societies should be based on human rights. He expressed support for all NGOs and activists who work on holding those in power accountable for their actions. Mr Howitt then spent an hour talking to a number of Macedonian activists prior to his meeting with representatives of the authorities the next day, and asked them to contribute information about the situation on the ground. Among other guests at the info market were a representative of the and Peter Erhady on behalf of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, who said that the work of UNITED is in line with OSCE - bridging the gap between communities through dialogue. Both Howitt and Erhady emphasised the situation of the Roma as a vulnerable group, and that a lot more work needs to be done to support them.

3.2 FIELD WORK IN STRUGA The participants of the UNITED conference had the opportunity to visit two local NGOs in Struga: We arrived at the town’s Youth Centre as a group of 9-12 year olds were practising a dance for a flash mob entitled “Schools Without Violence”, which was held some weeks later across Macedonia. The centre integrates children and young people from all communities in Struga, meaning they are not divided by ethnicity as in so many other parts of their daily lives. Parents are supportive of the centre and ethnicity is not an issue. However, there is a tendency that the older the youth get, the more they keep to their “own” group. The Local Development Agency (LDA) focuses on sustainable development and marginalised groups, and tries to emphasise Struga’s multicultural character as its strength. Among its previous projects was a photo exhibition of Struga highlighting diversity, and an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” for the Macedonian situation by youth – with a happy end. At the time of our visit,LDA was conducting training for 30 unemployed women focusing on communication and leadership skills, financial literacy and setting up a business. After years of hard work, LDA is now recognised in Struga as somewhere working for the entire community and not just one ethnic group.

3.3 CONCRETE STEPS FOR PEACE A delegate from the Forum Civil Peace Service (ZFD) talked about their work in Macedonia. ZFD is a German organisation that was founded in response to the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. People wanted to do something concrete, and formed ZFD as a counterpart to military service - their aim was peace making. ZFD acts as a “third party” in a conflict and takes no sides. The “peace workers” stay in a country for three years, so they have time to learn the language and get to know the situation in the field. In Macedonia, the ZFD promotes multi-ethnic dialogue in the educational system (which is highly segregated) and strengthens the self-organisation of young people to actively take part in political decision-making. ZFD also makes sure the voice of the civil society is heard, because too often the international actors play their own game without taking into account the wishes of the people. Furthermore, ZFD focuses on empowerment and long-term change that will continue after they have moved on.

3.4 BREAKING DOWN WALLS IN SCHOOLS Schools are crucial in combating parallel societies, as it is there the new generations are formed and given an understanding of the world. A delegate from the Dutch NGO Palet presented a project called “Schools Without Racism”, which aims to support pupils to actively make their schools antiracist and inclusive. It has now spread from the Netherlands to Belgium, Germany and other countries. The project is democratic, peer-to-peer and “bottom-up” controlled, giving young people a lot of influence. Before the project can take place at the schools though, there is a lot of work - directors, teachers and parents need to be on board, an action group must be in place, there is need of funding. It is a good idea to start with something fun and positive like international cooking, evening of Romani music or hanging posters from other countries at school. Later in the project, schools vote for a charter banning racism from their grounds. This is renewed every year, and in the meantime, other intercultural activities are organised, e.g. to mark important dates in history, like the International Day Against Racism (21 March) in the frame of the European Action Week Against RacismUNITED campaign. The delegate from Palet also facilitated a workshop called “Travelling For The Future”, about working with mixed groups of young migrants and right-wing youth with the aim of helping them approach each other. It is a very challenging task, but also very often successful. Among other things, they are taken to memorials and important places from the Second World War, where they learn about history. “Travelling” is also used as a metaphor - as in changing your outlook. - 6 - Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia - 7 -

Multicultural workshops with school children have proven very efficient for combating prejudices and stereotypes. Onesuch programme in Macedonian schools was presented to the participants of the conference in the workshop “Teaching Multiculturality” by a delegate from the Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, and it had very clear results: the more the children interact with each other across ethnic groups, the more their image of “the other” improves. This is especially important in a country where schoolchildren live in a segregated world. The success of the workshops is measured by documenting the way the children perceive members of other ethnic groups based on drawings. The numbers show that by far the most children express positive thoughts about members of their “own” group and more negative thoughts about other groups before the programme, but this changes to a more equal assessment. The children are also far less suspicious and afraid of someone from another ethnic group and more ready to be friends afterwards. One interesting thing was the fact that when they are asked to describe the persons in the drawings, the youngest children speak about physical appearance without any cultural stereotypes, which just goes to show that stereotypes are learned, and not inherent. And just as they are learned, they can be unlearned - and the earlier in childhood that happens, the more society as a whole will benefit.

OUR FREEDOMS UNDER ATTACK: 4 RESPONSES IN A TIME OF CRISIS

4.1 NATIONALISM AND POPULISM: PLAYING THE BLAME GAME Patriotism is usually promoted as a positive sentiment, but there is a risk of this love for one’s country to mutate into nationalism that is based not on love of the country and the nation, but on exclusion, discrimination or even hatred of other nations. Nationalism can provide people with a national identity, but that happens at the cost of their individuality. The participants of the working group “Name It, Blame It: Nationalism and Populism” presented the situation in their countries. The extreme right-wing party in France, Front National, does not use racism in the classical sense, but argues for the existence of “cultural classes”, because unlike overt racism, people do not reject it straight away. In Serbia, the nationalist movement is extremely homophobic, masked under the “promotion of family values”. Nationalists have been responsible for a great deal of violence and vandalism, but it has been difficult to prove. In Russia, the situation is very serious for antifascists, even though the country is pro- human rights on paper. The main party, United Russia, promotes nationalism, and the whole society suffers from xenophobia, hate speech and limited civic freedoms. These are just a few examples, but they show that one of our tasks as antifascists is to expose the new face of right-wing extremism. It is also clear that many people allow nationalism to supplant their personal identity, so there is an opportunity for us to promote social and benevolent ways to build an identity. A workshop with the title “Tackling nationalistic discourse” looked at different ways nationalism expresses itself, which happens through language, images, clothing and so on. It permeates language, the media and our social life to an extent that it can be difficult to spot it. The fight against nationalism is ongoing, and we must continue speaking for values of equality and internationality and against hatred and aggression.

4.2 HOMOPHOBIA: SEEKING SOLIDARITY As was mentioned in the working group on nationalism and populism, homophobia is one of the ways nationalism manifests itself under the guise of “family values”. This was pursued in workshop “Homophobia” by a delegate from the Serbian NGO QUEERIA – Centre For Promoting Non-violence And Equality. In large parts of Europe, homophobia is still socially acceptable, and LGBT activists stand very alone in their struggle for equality, as in the Balkans and Russia for example. In Western countries, homophobia exists in mainstream and migrant communities. For example in the Netherlands, there was an imam who said that homosexuals should be killed; the authorities immediately deported him. Participants agreed that being an LGBT activist is still extremely dangerous in many countries, and because of potentially extreme circumstances, they cannot always copy strategies from other places where the conditions are better. It is nevertheless very important to show international solidarity with the activists who run a great risk, not just because it gives them courage, but also because international attention can help prevent attacks on them and their human rights.

4.3 RUSSIA: WHEN ONLINE MEETS OFFLINE A representative of the AGORA Association, which is made up of human rights organisations and lawyers from all over Russia, presented a recent report by his organisation on threats to Internet freedom in his country covering 2008-2011. According to the report, the authorities seek to hold a firm grip on the Internet. For example, in order to be licensed as an Internet provider in Russia, a company must install equipment enabling the law enforcement to exercise surveillance over personal information of citizens on the - 6 - Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia - 7 -

Internet. In April 2011, a top official from the Federal Security Service (former KGB) proposed that Skype, Gmail and Hotmail should be banned in Russia, because they operate independently from the surveillance system. The AGORA Association has also documented several cases where statements made on the Internet had consequences for their authors. The report mentions a number of lawsuits against citizens for defamation, offensive language and incitement to hatred against representatives of the authorities, or even just “harsh criticism of the Republic”. Laws that were put in place to protect vulnerable groups are mostly being used to protect the authorities. Bloggers and independent newspapers are not only harassed and persecuted by the authorities; they are also targeted by Russian extremist groups and sometimes even killed (last known case was in 2009). More and more, online activists have to pay for their actions “offline”.

4.4 GREECE: TIMES OF CRISIS In times of crisis, there is a higher danger of the rise in extremism and totalitarian ideologies. Nationalistic movements can use the distress faced by regular citizens to promote their own agenda. A delegate from the Anti-nazi Initiativein Greece spoke about the current national crisis and the way populists - but also mainstream parties - use it for their own causes. According to the speaker, the crisis is not a recent phenomenon, as the salaries had started falling long ago. The last 30 years of politics have undermined industrial development and production, so that Greece now imports far more than it exports. This means the state is deprived of revenue from production, and that is at least as much cause of the crisis as the size of the public sector and the state’s expenses. When European Commission, the International Monetary Fond and the European Central Bank gave Greece the rescue package, they demanded that the state increase revenue and decrease spending. The nationalist movements call the EU, and especially Germany, “the lenders” and incite anger towards them to the point that anti-austerity protests take place in front of foreign embassies and not the parliament. In a display of political schizophrenia, these movements turn towards Russia and away from the EU, even though Russia actually is not contributing at all. It is disturbing that neo-nazis are integrated in the political spectrum - there have been examples of nazi salutes to a neo-nazi politician, and the political establishment did not react. Neo-nazis in Greece are overt and even violent, but are not prosecuted for their actions. They participate in elections and thus get free time on TV. It is widely known that people from the neo-nazi environment participated in the genocide in Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has asked Greece to react, but nothing has happened. In spite of the danger that the perceived humiliation of the Greeks by the EU is good soil for the rise of the right wing, the delegate from the Anti-nazi Initiative was hopeful that the people would eventually react in a healthy way, that they would find a way to denounce the government and a path to prosperity.

5 MEDIA LITERACY: NAVIGATING A SEA OF MESSAGES

5.1 IDENTIFYING THE BIAS NGOs need to take the media into consideration because they can help them get their message out to a wider public. However, they can also work against us, and it is therefore important to learn to interact with the media in a way that is benefits our work. The media is also significant in shaping public opinion, and when they have a discriminatory agenda, it is important to know how to spot this and expose it to the readers. One of the working groups focused on critical thinking about media. The participants were presented with some of the ways in which biased information can be presented and then analysed examples from the press to try to identify the tools that were discussed. Among them were: • Loaded words; those with strong negative or positive connotations - e.g. does the journalist use the word “regime” (negative) or “government” (neutral or positive) • Hasty generalisations; drawing conclusions on groups based on insufficient evidence - e.g. “because one woman thinks this, all women think this” • Using fear; exaggeration and misconnecting separate issues - e.g. “we are under threat from such and such enemy” • Referring to authority, tradition, patriotism etc. thus framing information within a wider emotive concept - e.g. “for the good of the country” • Guilt by association - e.g. “because someone from your country is a criminal, I can assume that so are you” • Only presenting those facts that support one’s claim or view, and completely ignoring any that oppose it - 8 - Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia - 9 -

• Rejecting a statement based on who is making it, without regard as to whether it is valid or not • Discrediting someone before they’ve even made a statement. Both right- and left-wing media can be biased, and it is important that the public is aware of it - in other words is media literate enough - in order not to be misled by unfounded statements or manipulative tricks. The group presented its work in the form of an article about the conference from a right-wing media perspective filled with the tricks described above. Although everybody found it funny, it was clear how easy it is to manipulate information.

5.2 PERFECTING YOUR PRESS RELEASE Knowing how to read the media is very important, but we also need to know how to speak to them in order to get our message across. One of the hands-on workshops focused on writing good press releases. It was led by an activist with professional experience at a newspaper, so participants were given the best possible introduction to writing press releases so they can get noticed and not end up in the bin. To achieve this, we need to write on the journalists’ terms. This means the release needs to be of value for the journalist (not just us) and have an easily recognisable format: header, sub header, lead, quote, the rest of the body, the boilerplate and the three hash tags, which is the industry standard for marking contact information. The “boilerplate” is a block of standard text about the NGO that is used at the bottom of all its releases. Creating a boilerplate is an essential media process for all organisations. A good way to write releases is to imitate quality content from newspapers. It is also important to make sure the header, sub header, and lead contain concise and interesting information - otherwise we risk the journalist deleting our e-mail before they have even read it all. We should take our ego out of the release - in other words avoid focusing it on the NGO we work for. Instead, it should present news people want to read.

5.3 IMAGES IN FOCUS In the workshop “Creative Advertising”, the participants discussed a number of adverts with questionable content. Among them was the L’Oréal advert with Beyoncé where she was photoshopped to look as if she had much fairer skin. Civil society reacted, and the advert was subsequently removed. There was also a scandalous advert in which a company used a drawing of Barack Obama and the White House to advertise “chocolate in vanilla”, and another where an advert being replicated in replaced a black man with a white man. There were also several examples of creative antiracist adverts, such as a picture of a swastika made of matches, showing that nazism and hatred can ignite fires. In countries where corporate responsibility is becoming a known concept, NGOs can benefit a lot from advertising companies who are willing to do pro bono work for a good cause. The companies themselves can benefit as well; it is good for their image and they can win prestigious awards.

6 PULLING TOGETHER FOR MINORITY RIGHTS

6.1 MINORITY RIGHTS NETWORK Across Europe, minority communities are nearly always among the most marginalised and vulnerable. Among the several ways to assist minority civil society throughout Europe is to create a platform for minority NGOs to help each other. Creating the basis for such a network was what the young and enthusiastic activists, some also coming from minority NGOs, did. Through a working group and a workshop, participants explored ways to establish a pan-European Minority Rights Network, its purpose, structure, functioning and other important aspects. A starting point for the discussion was the analysis of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities that was signed by member states of the Council of Europe in 1995. It has since become a key advocacy tool, but it is actually not widely known. There is a pronounced need for coalitions between minority and mainstream NGOs; whilst racism is a more popular issue with civil society, fighting for minority rights is actually one of the most effective ways to combat racism. Minority rights therefore need to be re-framed as antiracism and mainstreamed into other issues such as human rights, gender and poverty to get a better foothold. The benefits of networking are greater visibility and more data collection when the work is shared. In smaller countries minority organisations may be very small and it can be hard to set up own activities; this challenge can be made easier by joining forces. The participants listed a number of possible activities for the minority rights network, among them: media trainings, seminars, team building activities, analysing official documents, making study visits to each other, sharing a pool of trainers/experts, having Skype - 8 - Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia - 9 -

conferences, raising awareness of the minority rights convention both among NGOs, authorities and media, putting together an info pack, and more. From these, they chose organising a Skype conference as the workshop activity because it is low budget and can be participated in from home. The conference would be used to discuss common aims, values and principles, work out media strategies and prepare for the UN Minority Forum. The participants of the workshop discussed the roles and responsibilities required, preparing content, resources and materials needed and chose a deadline of 1. January 2012.

6.2 A DECADE AGAINST DISCRIMINATION? In spite of the current Europe-wide Roma Decade (2005-2015), they face growing prejudice; the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights has concluded that the Roma are Europe’s most discriminated-against minority. In Macedonia, the Roma represent approximately 3% of the population. They face grave social and financial obstacles: not only is their unemployment rate about double that of the wider population, they also often have very limited access to education. Roma refugees from Kosovo are in an especially difficult situation, because even after 12 years in Macedonia, they are rarely recognised as refugees, have limited access to jobs, education and health services. Participants of the working group “Roma Rights: Is A Decade Enough?” discussed reasons for the current situation, exchanged their knowledge and experiences, and considered possible strategies for the future. The participants had both some positive and negative cases to tell from their countries. One positive example was from Macedonia, where there are plans to use Roma as facilitators between Macedonians and , as they speak both languages. On the other hand in Lithuania, the Minister of Interior called the Roma “migrants”, even though there had been Roma in the country for 600 years. Often, discrimination anti-Roma is treated as socially acceptable. Across different countries, the Roma face the same problems: segregation, low life expectancy, limited access to health care and education, nationalist myths and currently even acknowledgement of the Roma Decade. As possible tools in combating these problems, the participants mentioned micro loans so people can start or develop their own businesses, providing training, promoting corporate social responsibility, so companies will realise they need to employ Roma - but in all cases there should be a situation and characteristic based approach, as not every country is the same. As for the Roma Decade, they stipulated that Roma should lead the initiatives, and everyone else should just help when required. After all, empowerment is the best long-term tool to combat discrimination. A delegate from Palet gave an introduction to the history of the Roma and Sinti, and also presented the film “Latcho Drom” which portrays the migration of Roma told through musicians and dancers of India, Egypt, , , Hungary, Slovakia, France, and Spain.

7 ON THE RUN – WHERE TO TURN?

7.1 INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS: LEARNING FROM THE LOCAL Refugees and internally displaced persons are some of the most vulnerable groups in our societies, and in recent years, they have been facing an ever more closing Europe. Their situation was highlighted in two workshops. The wars that tore through the Balkans in the 1990s were devastating, and millions of people from the region are still living in other countries as refugees or are internally displaced within their own region. The workshop “Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees” was facilitated by a young man who came to Macedonia as a refugee from Kosovo when he was 11 years old. The workshop was in part a testimonial, because his story was so gripping that everybody wanted to hear more. His education was delayed for several years because the authorities said he did not have the necessary papers, and refused to test him and place him in the correct grade that way. He had to provide a translation of his certificates, and finally, when he was 18, he was allowed to enter 4th grade. Though it was humiliating, he above all wanted an education, so continued until he finished primary school at 22, and then went on to evening school where he took computer classes. He taught himself English. The workshop showed - thanks to this touching personal testimony - the discrimination that Roma refugees from Kosovo face. Around 1,500 displaced persons from Kosovo, including persons with subsidiary protection or leave to stay, have lived in Macedonia for more than ten years. Many of their children were born or raised there. However, they remain without clear and long-term perspectives for local integration and adequate access to basic social and economic rights. There is no proper asylum system in Macedonia, and asylum seekers are more or less left to fend for themselves, paying for their own health care, housing etc. A very small number are actually granted asylum; the rest either stay in the country without papers or can - 10 - Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia - 11 - apply to be in a programme for returnees. In March 2011, UNHCR who had until then provided financial support for asylum seekers ended it because the Macedonian state should take the responsibility over. That has not yet happened, and refugees are struggling to pay rent and facing a multitude of problems. There are organisations such as the Red Cross who help, albeit on a very small scale, as they neither have the resources nor the infrastructure needed to solve the problem.

7.2 SHAPESHIFTING AT EU BORDERS A delegate from Folkesagen – Worthy Life for Asylum Seekers facilitated a workshop focusing on the extraterritorialisation of asylum, which means taking the asylum process outside the receiving countries. European countries have done this through e.g. the “Dublin II” agreement, which states that a person can only seek asylum in the EU country they first arrived in. This puts pressure on the countries that are at EU borders, and has contributed to the collapse of the asylum system in Greece, because countries “deeper” into the EU do not help to share the responsibility. One of the ways those countries avoid receiving refugees is by issuing heavy fines to any airline that takes on passengers without the proper papers, so the airlines pay attention to this. Frontex plays a big part in the extraterritorialisation of asylum, as it is a huge apparatus for policing the EU borders. It also infamously includes detention centres in neighbouring states like Libya where people have been held if they were caught on the way to an EU country. In 2009 there were twice as many border guards as there were asylum seekers in the EU, which it sees as a measure of success. One can only imagine what it would mean if the vast amounts of money put into combating migrants was instead used to help people in danger.

THE LOGISTICS OF ACTIVISM: 8 GETTING THINGS RUN SMOOTHLY

8.1 TOOLKIT TO CONNECT The many benefits of networking include solidarity and support, gaining new perspectives, more effective lobbying, sharing experiences and information as well as collaborating on project work. In order to enjoy these, a network needs a strong foundation made up of activists and leaders, good communication channels and infrastructure, funding and enthusiasm for the common cause. The working group “Networking: Connecting People” focused on the benefits and challenges of such collaboration. The tools of information and communication technologies have advanced, so that networking between NGOs is less complicated to set up and facilitate. As part of hands-on networking, participants presented their own NGOs and past experiences with networking, so others could draw on their expertise and contacts. Attention was also given to social media and their efficiency in bridging vast distances - not just geographical, but also social - and in spreading information, for example in the form of viral videos. Social media has proven very useful in organising non-violent protests across the world, and are also a good tool to respond to or criticise traditional media, as it is more accessible. What is important to remember though is that social media can also be used against us, for example by far-right groups who monitor our activities, so they should be used with caution. The working group recommended the following tools for social advertising and social media: • Digital volunteering • Google Docs • Online maps of campaigning places • Antiracist applications • E-newsletters • A closed online platform for members As common actions they recommended: • Flash mobs • Conferences (annual meetings) • I-mobs (“flash mobs” on Internet) • Training • Music, dance and drama • Human libraries • Travelling exhibitions And, finally, the group had the following tips for inter-network communication: • Annual action calendar • Smart phone application • SMS-mailing list • Universal templates for documents • Advertisement materials

8.2 UNITED AGAINST RACISM Networking is the heart and soul of UNITED, and its activities are always a result of joint efforts from many different NGOs across Europe. UNITED coordinates three European campaigns that are planned at the conferences. One of the workshops in Macedonia was about designing a poster that could be produced for the Action Week Against Racism, which centres around 21 March every year.

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The challenge was to create a poster that could be used in any European country, no matter what their specific situation is. In order to find options, participants shared country-specific situations; fatigue and disillusionment after the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the student movement for electoral reform in Spain, and a recent campaign against positive discrimination by a nationalist party in Czech Republic among others. Clearly, the situation was quite diverse from country to country, but the participants agreed to create a poster calling citizens to speak out against racism. They were inspired by the image of the three monkeys - see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil - and as a result, a poster with a face where the eyes, the ears and the mouth were covered with hands was designed. It is a strong visual message that makes the viewer want to break free of those restraining hands and no longer be blind, deaf and silent in the face of racism.

8.3 YOUTH INTER-ACTION The working group “Get Involved: Speak Out For Diversity” looked at strategies for youth work and ways to engage young people from different backgrounds in intercultural dialogue. The group defined intercultural dialogue as an “open and respectful exchange of views between individuals and groups belonging to different cultures that leads to a deeper understanding of the other’s global perception”. Participants emphasised the importance of focusing on issues that are relevant for young people; it is important toknowthe target group. Good slogans and design are also important, as well as enthusiastic youth workers - if you are having fun, so will they. Encouraging young people to volunteer themselves can be a good way to interest them, and delegating responsibilities and acknowledging their work is sure to be a big hit. It is also important to give them something in return. When working with young people, there is no way around social media as a tool for mobilisation and spreading of information. Thus, in the presentation to the plenary, the participants enacted Facebook correspondence illustrating the synergy we can create when we work together across borders and organisations. The thread showed two youth workers discussing strategies for keeping young people interested, finding skilled collaborators, using social media and using a creative choice of venues in order to make the activities as interesting as possible.

8.4 BROADENING OUR HORIZONS Most NGOs depend heavily on volunteers’ input, because they do not have big budgets like commercial companies. A delegate from the Youth Association creACTive in Skopje presented the way his NGO manages volunteers. CreACTive does youth exchanges, training and seminars. The organisation gives students an opportunity to gain experience within their field of study through volunteering, for example in the scope of European Voluntary Service (EVS). It is especially appealing for students of foreign languages to practice and perfect their skills in another country. CreACTive is both an EVS hosting and sending organisation. Project costs are covered by the European Commission and can take from 2 to 12 months. In order to be a successful experience for all involved, the volunteer should be given a suitable assignment, receive continuous training and guidance, regular evaluation of their work and be given lots of opportunities to engage with their host culture. The benefits for the volunteer are first of all experience in their field of interest and general work experience, but also a chance to expand their horizon and nurture new ideas. The organisation benefits from fresh input and feedback and can later hire their previous volunteers if the opportunity should arise, as they will already be familiar with the workflow and practical challenges. The delegate emphasised that it is important to keep the volunteers well informed about the work of the organisation and show them appreciation, especially if they show initiative and independence.

8.5 FUND-RAISING: A DENAR FOR YOUR THOUGHTS Money is always an issue for NGOs, but as one workshop highlighted, there are ways they can help each other. Depending on local legislation and the ethics of the NGO, they can choose from a number of different fund-raising methods. For example, if they own tents or equipment, they can rent it to other NGOs for money - and if they do it for less than market value, everyone can benefit. A popular means of fund-raising is to run a café (non-alcoholic, if it is a youth NGO). NGOs can also offer training, education and research support for money. One participant mentioned a small village in Greece where the inhabitants now run a successful and self-sustainable centre for rural economic development and tourist information. It started when a group of women from the village started a club. Soon, they added an improvised kindergarten, where other women from the village could have their children watched for a small fee. Then the club started serving coffee. Then a book exchange was added. Then the women decided to get certified as organic producers, so they could develop tourism on the basis of that and export their products. They now have computers and free Internet for anyone from the village, and they even have a small pool of money from which they give grants to development of other projects. This illustrates that self-generated income generally means very hard work and is time-consuming, but is worth it.

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9 CLOSING THE CONFERENCE

9.1 FACING THE FUTURE In the course of five days with a packed programme, the participants had the opportunity to exchange experiences andgood practices, collaborate on solutions, initiate common projects, make new friendships - all with the common goal to merge and unite parallel societies, whether on a small scale or large. As described above, the host country Macedonia has its problems with inter- ethnic relations, and our Macedonian fellow activists have a lot of work ahead of them, but we also saw a number of successful projects both in the country and elsewhere in Europe. As this report shows, we have a multitude of tools and methods at our disposal to work for successfully integrated societies. A lot of our inspiration comes from activists from other countries - we just need to find each other and exchange the knowledge, and that is precisely one of the aims of UNITED’s conferences.

9.2 LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THANK YOU! This conference was made possible only through the dedication and combined efforts of many NGOs, individuals and sponsors. It was made such a success due to the energy, knowledge and enthusiasm of all participating NGOs. We value the contribution of each and every one. We especially thank: • Lindita - Multikulti Youth Centre (MK) • Stefan - Centre for Intercultural Dialogue (MK) • Alexandra - Initiative for Social Change (MK) • Jamil - Concordia (E) • Natalia - Human Rights Monitoring Institute (LT) • Anastasia - Institute Globalisation & Social Movements (RUS) • Paola - UNITED for Intercultural Action As well as all experts speaking during plenary sessions, working group facilitators and workshop leaders. Many thanks also to the rapporteurs within each working group for their contributions and Amila for writing the conference report. We are grateful for the financial contributions of our sponsors: • The Council of Europe - European Youth Foundation, European Union (Youth in Action Programme) • Matra Program Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs • Minority Rights Group Europe • OSCE Mission to Skopje And the continuing hard work of UNITED secretariat; staff and volunteers, both before and after the conference.

Report written by Amila Jašarević, Independent World Report (S) - 12 - Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia - 13 -

13 CONFERENCE PROGRAM Evening Dinner 14:30-18:30 Afternoon Lunch 9:30-12:30 Morning Breakfast TIME Foreign Affairs • Matra Program Dutch Ministry of • Minority Rights Group Europe Council of Europe • European Youth Foundation of the With financial support of: • UNITED for Intercultural Action Movements (RUS) • Institute of Globalisation and Social • Human Rights Monitoring Institute (LT) • Concordia (E) • Initiative for Social Change (MK) • Multikulti Youth Centre (MK) • Centr e for Conference prepared by: • OSCE - Mission to Skopje 15-20 October in Macedonia

UNITED-Conference Programme - Informal opening reception "Breaking the Blocks" GET DOCUMENTED! Arrival of participants Intercultural Dialogue (MK) - Registration until ca 17:30 16:00-19:00 15 October Saturday 21:00

Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite B. Know It Show It: Critical Thinking About Media Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution With opening speeches by MEP Richard Howitt, E. Name It Blame It: Nationalism and Populism the Major of Struga & OSCE mission to Skopje • About Centre for Intercultural Dialogue (MK) • Short personal introduction of participants Info Market: Present your organisation! Secretariat Implementing Ohrid Agreem. • About Initiative for Social Change (MK) MACEDONIA: AN OASIS OF PEACE? F. Get Involved: Speak Out for Diversity D. Roma Rights: Is a Decade Enough? Definitions and concepts most used in • The Ohrid Framework Agreement antiracist and antidiscrimination work • About Multikulti Youth Centre (MK) THEMATIC WORKING GROUPS C. Networking Connecting People • Programme / Team / Technics - Presentations and discssion • Elections and Nationalism 21:30 International Snacks - Introduction of key issues THE DANGER OF WORDS A. Minority Rights Network OSCE - Mission to Skopje • The UNITED Network - Discussion groups • Parallel Societies 14:30-16:00 16:15-18:00 11:15-12:30 09:30-11:00 WELCOME 16 October Sunday 20:30 • Civil Liberties in time of Economical Crisis 1. The Minority Rights Network 3. Fundraising in NGO Work Euro-Balkan Institute for Social and THEMATIC WORKING GROUPS THEMATIC WORKING GROUPS - Presentations and discussion 2. Volunteering LESS WORDS MORE ACTION Union of Jewish Students (UA) WHY ARE WE AFRAID TO CALL IT DICTATORSHIP? Humanities Research (MK) AGORA Association (RUS) • Nowadays' Regimes? • The Russian Example - Developing strategies Movie and Political Café Anti-nazi Initiative (GR) - Training Workshops - 4. Creative Advertising Continuation of the Continuation of the - Sharing practices 'Latcho Drom' 14:30-16:30 16:45-18:00 11:15-12:30 09:30-11:00 17 October Monday 21:00 - Kreaktive (MK) - CID (MK) - InSoC (MK) Ctr. Human Rights & Conflict resolution (MK) 4. Political Participation of Diverse Groups 3. Internally Displaced Persons & Refugees GLOBALISING LOCAL PRACTICES 1. Elections in Macedonia THEMATIC WORKING GROUPS - Development Agency Struga Guided City Tour in Ohrid Presentation of the Results 2. Teaching Multiculturality - Thematic Workshops - Youth Centre Struga Visit to local NGO's: FREE AFTERNOON - Plenary session Dinner in town Free evening Chachipe (L) 09:30-10:45 11:00-12:30 18 October Free time Tuesday 20:00

- IRZ (MK) - TCM (MK) 1. Get Active: Campaign Against Racism! Intercultural Evening & Farewell Party 2. Travelling for the Future 4. Journalism and Media 4. Homophobia 1. Census - Consensus - With contribution of participants - 2. Extra-territorialisation of Asylum 3 Tackling Nationalistic Discourse - Presentations and discussion • Peace Action on Local Level CONFERENCE EVALUATION • School Without Racism 3. Advocacy in NGO Work Minority Rights Group (H) - Thematic Workshops - Training Workshops - OFFICIAL CLOSING TOOLKIT TO UNITE LEFT TO REALITY Folkesagen (DK) BROKEN NEWS Forum ZFD (MK) Memorial (RUS) OPEN FORUM Wednesday 14:30-16:30 16:45-17:15 17:15-18:30 11:15-12:30 09:30-11:00 19 October Palet (NL) UNITED - Queeria Centre (RS) 20:30 - HCRA (MK) - MRGE (H) - Palet (NL) - 14 - Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia - 15 -

14 LIST OF PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS Youth Human Rights Movement - International Network Youth Human Rights Movement - Committee for Refugees Youth Group of Serbian Helsinki Commitee f Human Rights Youth Forum - na Mladi-Bitola Youth Council Women in Black - Zene u Crnom Beograd Vereinigung Verfolgten des Naziregimes - Bundesgesch. United Nations Youth and Students Association of Finland UNITED for Intercultural Action United Euro Bridge Ukrainian Union of Jewish Students Roma Democratic Development Association - Sonce Roma Active Richard Howitt - European Parliament Rapporteur Resource Centre Leskovac - Resurs Centar QUEERIA - Center for Promoting Nonviolence & Equality Platform History Politics - Plattform Geschichtspolitik People Against Racism - Ludia Proti Rasizmu Pedagogical Centre Academia Parler en Paix - Talking in Peace Palet - Adviseurs Diversiteit OSCE - Mission to Skopje Opportunity Never Again Association - Stowarzyszenie Nigdy Wiecej Youth Network Against Racism and Intolerance Romaversitas Foundation Open Society Foundation - Bratislava Zavod Voluntariat - SCI Slovenia Say Stop to Racism and Nationalism! - DurDe! Secretariat Implementing Ohrid Agreement Serbian Youth Umbrella Organisation Swiss National Youth Council Synergy Group Kosova TernYpe - International Roma Youth Network Training Center for Management of Conflicts Organisation UNITED publications can be freely re-used, translated and re-distributed. Provided the source: - www The contents of this document are the sole responsibility UNITED and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting position sponsors. Minority Rights Group Europe and OSCE - Mission to Skopje. This conference has received financial assistance from the Council of Europe (European Youth Foundation), the European Union (Youth in Action Programme), Matra Program Dutch Ministry of Foreign- Affairs, Foundation Society Open Europe, Bratislava, OSCE - Mission to Skopje, Final Frontiers Internet, Dijkman Of Group Rights Minority Future, and Responsibility Remembrance Foundation Fund, Humanitarian Jewish Cyprus, of YouthBoard Institute, Municipality Society Local Open Foundation, Budapest, YouthRothschild of of Affairs, Board National Swedish The Azerbaijan, of Sport Youthand of Ministry Madrid, de Comunidad CH, Kulturprozent Migros CH, Projects for Racism) (Fund Against Racism Combating for Service Federal Europe, for of Youth Office Coordination Swiss CH, for Affairs) Youth (Dep. Office Insurance Social Federal Stiftung, Ebert Friedrich Grundtvig, of Foreign Affairs, Vuurwerk Internet, Instituto Português da Juventude, National Integration Office Sweden, Service Nationale de la Jeunesse Luxembourg, LNU - Norwegian Youth Council, EuropeesGewalt, Rechtextremismus Platform und Fremdenfeindlichkeit Brandenburg, Home Office UK, Ministry of Interior-BZK NL, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs CH, the Matra Programme of the Netherlands Ministry Sweden, Council Cultural MinnesFond, West-ÖstlicheStiftung Foundation, GUE/NGLBegegnung, Cultural and European Group-, Parliament, Socialist European Group-, the Green in Slovenia, Palmes Group Education of Ministry Gegen Aktionsbündnis Olof Churches, of Council World Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, OSCE-ODIHR, Centres), YouthFoundation/European Youth(European Europe of Council IBPP), Affairs/ Social TACIS Employment Programme/DG Action Budget/Socrates/Grundtvig/Youth in (General Commission European as: such sponsors various from received was support financial 1992 Since Voluntary European the Friedensdienste, Sühnezeichen Aktion from volunteers long-term and Service- and Leonardo Programme Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service. supporters private individuals, prominent many countries, European 48 from organisations 550 than more UNITED IS SUPPORTED BY ACADEMIA Palet OSCE-MK YHRM YHRM OGHOBG WIB / ZUC VVN-BdA UNYA UNITED UUJS RDDA RAA RC QUEERIA PaR / LPR NA YNRI NOS-OSF SCI-SI DurDe SIOFA KOMS SAJV ternYpe TMC Abbrev. fset and others.. Zhovtneva str. 46 Willemstraat 59 11 Oktomvri st 25; QBE Building 86 Durham Street PO Box 152 33/6 Dolgoroukovskaya street Rige od Fere 20/5 Edvard Kardelj 11/9 Geroyev Adzhimushkaya 6 Jug Bogdanova 18/5 Franz-Mehring-Platz 1 PL 93 Postbus 413 17 Nevern Road vul Grushevskogo 34a; office 13 PO Box159 Rr Ylbere Bylykbashi; rue Wiertz -ASP 13G246 PO Box 72 - Strahinjica Bana 3 Veljka Petrovica 152 / 6 PO Box 33 13 rue Mazarine PO Box 6 PO Box 152 Terez Boulebard 46; 4th floor; IV/1 Bastova 5 Cigaletova 9 c/o KKM; Istiklal Cad; Bekar Sok 16/3 Ilindenska bb Bulevar Umetnosti 27 Postfach 292 - Gerberngasse 39 Sunny Hill, St Vellezrit Gervalla 5/1 Búdková 2 Borka Talevski 11/4 Street .unitedagainstracism.org - is mentioned and a copy sent to the UNITED Secretariat. P25; Shk2; Ap4 A- AL- NL-5611 HC MK-1000 GB-NE4 6XQ UA-36000 RUS-394000 RUS-394000 RS-11000 MK-7000 UA-95000 RS-11000 D-10243 FIN-00101 NL-1000 AK GB- SW5 9PQ UA-01021 MK-1200 BE-1047 RS-16000 RS-11000 SK-82004 F-75006 PL-03700 RUS-394000 H-1064 SK-81103 SI-1000 TR-34435 MK-1000 RS-11070 CH-3000 XZ-10000 SK-811 04 MK-1000 Postcode Wien Eindhoven Skopje Newcastle Tirana Poltava Voronezh Voronezh Beograd Bitola Simferopol Beograd Berlin Helsinki Amsterdam London Kiev Tetovo Bruxelles Leskovac Beograd Bratislava 24 Paris Warszawa 4 Voronezh Budapest Bratislava Ljubljana Istanbul - B. Skopje Belgrade Bern 13 Pristina Bratislava Skopje City 31-40-2359999 389-2-3234000 44-19-12725697 355-4-2265953 380-532-611537 7-4732-553947 7-4732-553947 381-11-3032408 389-47-227600 380-652-603036 381-11-2623225 49-30-29784175 358-9-625398 31-20-6834778 44-20-73733101 380-93-7680541 389-44-352390 32-2-2845477 381-16-232811 381-11-2395935 421-911-616356 33-6-70716179 48-60-1360835 7-4732-545529 36-706-349288 421-2-54414730 386-1-2391623 90-535-8857615 389-3114-397 381-62-467267 41-31-3262929 386-49-400480 421-2-59296326 389-2-5511399 Telephone [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] E-mail www.plattform-geschichtspolitik.org www.raal.al www.palet.nl www.osce.org/skopje www.poltava-academia.com www.richardhowittmep.com www.yhrm.org www.refugee.org www.helsinki.org.rs www.youthforumbitola.org www.zeneucrnom.org www.vvn-bda.de www.sykli.info www.unitedagainstracism.org www.unitedeurobridge.org www.uujs.org www.sonce.org.mk www.rcleskovac.rs www.queeriacentar.org www.rasizmus.sk www.parlerenpaix.org www.nigdywiecej.org ynri.yhrm.org www.romaversitas.hu www.osf.sk www.zavod-voluntariat.si www.durde.org www.siofa.gov.mk www.koms.rs www.sajv.ch www.s-gr.com www.ternype.eu www.tcmc.org.mk Website - 14 - Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia Merging Parallel Societies: Toolkit to Unite • 15-20 October 2011 in Struga, Macedonia - 15 - Interlegal International Foundation Mus-e Kosova Multikultura Multikulti Youth Centre Minority Rights Group Europe Mesecina - Humanitarian and Charitable Ass. of Roma Macedonian Young Lawyers Association Local Development Agency Struga Lastochki - International Cultural Youth Exchange - Samara Kurt Lewin Foundation Kreaktive - Skopje Initiative for Social Change - InSoC Gay-Forum of Ukraine Foundation of Subjective Values Forum of European Muslim Youth & Student Organisations Forum Civil Peace Service - ZFD Folkesagen - Worthy Life for Asylum Seekers Finnish Youth Cooperation Allianssi Euro-Balkan Institute for Social and Humanities Research DUHA - Rainbow Association Day Without Immigrants - La Journée Sans Immigrés Croatian Debating Society - Hrvatsko Debatno Dru š tvo Concordia International Group Association for Social Change - Sosyal Degisim Dernegi Association des Travailleurs Maghrébins - Argenteuil Association for Solidarity with Asylum-seekers and Migrants Asociación Juvenil Intercambia Antidiscrimination Centre Memorial - St. Petersburg Anti-nazi Initiative Anne Frank Stichting Albanian Helsinki Committee Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste AGORA Association AEGEE European Student's Forum - Tirana Institute of Globalisation and Social Movements Gedenkdienst - Ass for Historical and Political Education Association of Recognised Refugees in Cyprus Institute of Race Relations Helsinki Citizens' Assembly - International Secretariat Human Rights Monitoring Institute Independent World Report Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service Center for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Center for Legal and Civic Culture Centre for Intercultural Dialogue Chachipe Civic Assistance Committee Refugees & Forced Migrants Community Development Institute Organisation UNITED CONFERENCE LIST OF PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS ALLIANSSI ASF-ARSP Interlegal HCRA MYLA LDA ICYE KLA AGORA AEGEE Mus-e MRG E InSoC GFU FSV FEMYSO DUHA HDD ASC ATMF SGDD ADC ANI AHC IGSO ARRC IRR HCA/AEC HRMI IWR CLCC CID CAC CDI Abbrev. M. Ulyanova 16/1 Brakja Ginoski 61 Blagoj Davkov Street No. 2/1-1 Vlado Maleski Tale nn ulitsa Tuhachevskogo 44-49 Váci utca 46 III em 5 Nikola Vukmirovic 23 / 3 Asemapäällikönkatu 1 Auguststrasse 80 Myasnitskaya, 24/7; bld .3; of. 3 Rr F Shiroka Kulla B15; 28 Nentori; Qendra Tregëtare; 48 St. Jane Sandanski 48/1 Ilindenska 37; 1/3 Dohány u. 14; VI. em. Miladin Popovic 4/1A PO box 5 Alagut útca 1 50 rue Archimède Borka Talevski 11/4 Ved Hegnet 6; 4tv Blvd Partizanski Odredi no 63 Senovázné námesti 24 Kralja Drzislava 12 Istiklal Caddesi; Bekar Sok; 16/3 26 Bd General Leclerc Cinnah Caddesi 27/7 Calle Pepe Estrada n1 - 4a 7 Krasnoarmeyskaya 25/14; off 413 Chalkokondyli Street 35 Postbus 730 - Westermarkt 10 PO Box 1752 Kolpachni pereulok 9A Margaretenstrasse 166; 4 Stock 3 Antigonis Street; Kaimakli 2-6 Leeke Street; King's Cross Road 21ter rue Voltaire Didzioji Street 5 BOX 1128 Hutterweg 6 PO-Box 39 - Partizanski odredi b.b Chui avenue 207 Vera Kotorka 39 PO Box 97 ul Dolgorukovskaya 33; building 6 St. M. Tito No. 132/1 Street Ish Shtypshkr F- E- RUS-119331 MK-1230 MK-1000 MK- RUS-443082 H-1056 MK-1060 RUS-101000 AL-1001 FIN-00520 D-10117 XZ-10000 MK-1200 MK-1300 H-1074 MK-1000 UA-03126 H-1013 B-1000 MK-1000 DK-2100 MK-1000 CZ-116 47 HR-10000 TR-34435 F-95100 TR-06680 E-29014 RUS-190005 GR-10432 NL-1000 AS AL-1001 RUS-101990 A-1050 CY-1022 GB- F-75011 LT-01128 S-70111 A-6020 MK-1000 KY- MK-1300 L-7201 RUS-127006 MK-1220 Postcode 15-­‐20 October 2011 in Struga (MK) 'Merging Parallel Socie9es: Toolkit to Unite' WC1X 9HS Paris Madrid Skopje Struga Samara Budapest Skopje London Moscow Tirana Moskva Helsinki Berlin Prishtine Tetovo Kumanova Budapest Skopje Kyiv Budapest Bruxelles Skopje København Skopje Praha 1 Zagreb Istanbul-B Argenteuil Ankara Málaga St. Petersburg Athinai Amsterdam Tirana Moskva Wien Nicosia Paris Vilnius Örebro Innsbruck Skopje Bishkek Kumanovo Béreldange Moskva Tetovo City 44-20-78370041 7-495-5429724 389-42-222271 389-2-3220870 389-46-784151 7-846-3326663 36-1-4110940 389-2-6130709 7-843-5378900 355-69-2579554 358-20-7552624 49-30-28395184 377-44-345011 389-44-522355 36-1-3277038 389-2-55-11820 380-444-517217 36-7-02530685 32-2-2806922 389-2-5511399 45-25563625 389-2-3075570 420-234621250 385-99-2317601 90-212-2923439 33-1-39804540 90-312-4275583 34-952002774 7-812-3178930 30-210-5232553 31-20-5567100 355-4-2233671 7-499-5028252 43-1-5810490 357-9-9862470 33-1-43716212 370-5-2314681 46-197679005 43-664-1008361 389-3065953 996-312-625643 389-31421330 33-6-31921749 7-499-9735474 389-44-340677 Telephone [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] E-mail www.independentworldreport.com www.la-journee-sans-immigres.com www.concordia-group.org www.irr.org.uk interlegal.ru www.mesecina.org.mk www.myla.org.mk/ www.ldastruga.org www.icye.ru www.kla.hu www.kreaktiv.mk www.openinform.ru www.aegee.org www.alli.fi www.asf-ev.de www.forumzfd.de www.memorial.spb.ru www.annefrank.nl www.mus-e-ks.com www.multikultura.org.mk www.multikulti.mk www.minorityrights.org www.insoc.org.mk www.gay-forum.org.ua www.antirasszista.hu www.femyso.org www.euba.edu.mk/eng www.duha.cz www.hdd.hr www.sosyaldegisim.org www.atmf.org www.sgdd.org.tr www.europaerestu.org www.antinazi.gr www.ahc.org.al igso.ru www.gedenkdienst.at www.cedetim.org www.hrmi.lt www.gedenkdienst.org www.chrcr.org.mk cid.mk www.romarights.wordpress.com www.refugee.ru www.mic.org.mk Website GET UNITED! GET CONNECTED!

UNITED We believe that racism can only be combated by unity. Since 1993, more than 560 organisations from 46 European countries have joined to make Europe a better place - for all. We have to stand together, be united to support the anti-racist and anti-discrimination vision and to speak out against racism and the negative political tendencies in Europe! With an authentic and living movement we can put antiracism into the mainstream of contem- porary culture. Young people can and should be a part of the solution to the problem of racism. The movement can grow with their opinions and their visions of the Europe they want to live in.

FOR We stand for unity and hope, fascists spread division and fear. Our vision is one of peaceful co-existence and intercultural respect all over the world. Together we want to build a Europe of tolerance and solidarity, a Europe of respect and perspectives. Diversity is for us more than just living our lives next to each other. Intercultural under- standing and cooperation is our goal.

INTERCULTURAL The best way to stop racism is to get to know each other and to learn from common experience. Every organisation is an expert in its field and in its region, all sharing the same goals. Strength- ening these existing intercultural relations between civil societies, minority groups and political and economical actors is UNITED’s most important target. Diversity is a virtue, solidarity a duty.

ACTION It’s the variety and creativity that makes UNITED campaigns unique. By linking local and nation- al actions, we can generate European-wide solidarity and publicity. We can show that there is an enormous amount of people that believe in an intercultural open society. European-wide campaigns against racism (21 March), in support of refugees (20 June) and against fascism and antisemitism (9 November) have been overwhelmingly successfully coordinated by UNITED for more than a dec- ade. UNITED also does effective lobby-work at the European level to make our voice heard. Raising awareness in all fields of life - that’s the key to defeat racism!

• UNITED for Intercultural Action • European Network against nationalism, racism and fascism and in support of migrants and refugees • Postbus 413 • NL-1000 AK Amsterdam • phone +31-20-6834778 • fax +31-20-6834582 • • [email protected] • www.unitedagainstracism.org •

This publication is a supplement to the Calendar of Internationalism - Printed by Dijkman Offset • www.dijkman.nl