Call for proposals to prevent and combat racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance - REC-RRAC-RACI-AG-2018

Deadline: Oct 4, 2018  
CALL EXPIRED

Priorities and activities to be co-financed

1. Priorities

The call is aimed at supporting projects focusing on preventing and combating racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance, by:

- improving responses to hate crime and hate speech, including but not limited to means of criminal law;

- supporting victims of hate crime and hate speech;

- preventing hatred by fostering tolerance and social cohesion.

Projects may, in this respect, be targeted to address the specificities of particular forms of intolerance, such as Antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred, homophobia and transphobia, antigypsyism, xenophobia and anti-migrant hatred, Afrophobia, hate crimes against persons with disabilities.

Where relevant, proposals should take into account the focus and objectives of existing Commission's policy initiatives, such as, for example, the work of the Commission Coordinator on combating Antisemitism (http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/just/item-detail.cfm?item_id=50144) and the Commission Coordinator on combating anti-Muslim hatred and intolerance (http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/just/item-detail.cfm?item_id=50085).

Proposals building on the work of the EU High Level Group on combating racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance (http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/just/item-detail.cfm?&item_id=51025) are of particular interest, in particular initiatives following up to thematic discussions held by the High Level Group on preventing and countering Afrophobia and antigypsyism.

Projects focused on preventative actions to foster tolerance and social cohesion are expected to build on a solid knowledge of the root causes, the impact and manifestations of phenomena of societal polarisation and of forms of extremism capable of fuelling hatred and intolerance.

2. Description of the activities

In relation to the above mentioned priorities, the call will fund projects focused on one or more among the following activities:

- development of tools and practices to improve responses to hate crime and hate speech, in particular with a view to:

• build capacity of public authorities, civil society and other relevant actors to respond to hate crime and hate speech and interact with victims, in particular through training activities, taking into account the key guiding principles on hate crime training developed by the EU High Level Group on combating racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance (http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/document.cfm?doc_id=43050);
• ensure support and protection for victims of hate crime and hate speech, including through the development and strengthening of victim support services, initiatives aimed at addressing the issue of underreporting and initiatives aimed at building trust between communities and public authorities, taking into account the key guiding principles on hate crime victims' access to justice, support and protection developed by the EU High Level Group on combating racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance (http://http//ec.europa.eu/newsroom/just/document.cfm?doc_id=48874);
• achieve strengthened cooperation between key actors, including through the development and implementation of cooperation protocols and practices or the setting up of coordination bodies involving different national and/or local authorities, civil society organisations, targeted communities;

- creating better understanding between communities, including through interreligious and intercultural activities and projects focusing on coalition building;

- awareness raising campaigns and initiatives addressed to the general public or to targeted groups and communities, in particular multipliers and community leaders, on the impact of and responses to racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance, and/or to empower vulnerable groups and communities against manifestations of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance.

Mutual learning activities and exchange of best practices between different Member States are welcome to be included in the proposals where this can bring an added value.

3. Expected results

• Curbing manifestations of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance across the EU, including incidents of hate crime and hate speech;
• Increased capacity of national and local authorities and civil society and community actors to address issues related to racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance, including better respond to hate crime and hate speech;
• Improved support to hate crime victims, better awareness of the rights of victims of hate crime and hate speech and increased number of reported hate crime and hate speech incidents;
• Strengthened cooperation and exchange of information between competent national authorities and other key actors such as civil society organisations and community representatives in the area of preventing and combating racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance;
• Effective prevention measures addressing manifestations of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance developed and implemented;
• Improved understanding and increased coalition building between communities;
• Increased awareness of the impact of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance, of current trends and of existing responses, in particular among the general public, multipliers and community leaders, vulnerable groups and communities.