Get Active on November 2006!
Dear NCC's and campaigners!
Coming up this November, there are two important dates that would be important to link to our campaign: the 9th of November which is the International Day against fascism and anti-Semitism, and the 16th of November which is the International Day for Tolerance.
On November 9th, the focus of the campaign is to join forces and build a strong movement capable of fighting fascism in all its forms. Anti-fascist, anti-racist, Jewish and Roma organizations both inside and outside the UNITED network commemorate the "Kristallnacht" which took place on 9 November 1938 where synagogues were set on fire, Jewish shops had their windows smashed across the country, and were many Jews were physically attacked as well. This partly state-organized pogrom against German Jews symbolizes the beginning of the Holocaust. The commemoration has taken a new meaning as we remember not only the victims from 1938, but also campaign against rise of neo-nazism and racism in
On November 16, the International Day for Tolerance is an annual observance which was declared by UNESCO in 1995 to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance. It is a day that emphasizes, reminds, and challenges Member States to develop and encourage respect for human rights, and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, gender, language, national origin, religion or disability, and to combat intolerance. It is a day to remind us to take all positive measures necessary to promote tolerance in our societies, because tolerance is not only a cherished principle, but also a necessity from peace and for the economic and social advancement of all peoples as we keep in mind certain truths that can be found in documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which affirms that 'Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion' (Article 18), 'of opinion and expression' (Article 19), and that education 'should promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups' (Article 26).
With the principles of these two days relating to the same goals as our campaign, we want to encourage you to take advantage of the importance of these two days and use them to promote awareness for our campaign and our goals while still keeping the symbolism and importance of these two dates in mind. As NCC's, for possible ways of taking action it would be important to get in touch with other groups working on the issues and to organize something together in order to strengthen your national coalitions. Link the Campaign to activities already planned, bring these days to public attention through commemoration, symbolic acts, speeches and banners. Debate the dates on your websites, make them visible and link your events in November to the issues of Anti-Semitism and Tolerance. Think of making the Campaign visible on the streets that day, like with stands or doing a public survey on the issues, use the UNITED calendar for further information on other countries activities. Of course you are the ones who know best about the best ways to raise the attention for those issues in your country, we just wanted to highlight the importance of these two days.
And last but not least, don't forget to report your activities to us and to send us press reviews, so that we can communicate about the Campaign in your countries.
With best wishes for your Campaigns!
Katrin Oeser - "All Different - All Equal" Campaign
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