14th session of URI MENA Cultural Cafe (via Zoom)
On 11 July 2020, URI MENA Cultural Café held a Zoom session on “Racism in all its forms,” facilitated by Anas Hammoudeh of Naya CC. We discussed racism and its different forms and explored its causes.
Also, the participants suggested some solutions to combat racism including:
1. Promote inclusive citizenship through education
2. Promote globally respected values such as diversity, inclusion, equality, human dignity…etc
3. Stress the fact that all humans belong to same origin “Adam and Eva”
4. Promote the notion of human oneness and global cooperation as we face similar global challenges (e.g. COVID 19, global warming…etc)
5. Promote religious teachings that undermine racism
6. Enforce anti-racism laws
Takeaways from the session:
– Racial prejudice and racism are social problems prevalent in all societies; therefore, we need a holistic approach with multiple stakeholders to combat them
– Racism creates a breeding ground for hate crimes
– We need to be aware of our own implicit bias, as racism can be implicit and explicit
– Racial prejudice and racism harm not only the victims, but also the larger society as they shake community resilience
– Don’t be complicit in racism by staying silent
