Call for proposals to prevent and combat racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance and to monitor, prevent and counter hate speech online - REC-RRAC-RACI-AG-2019

Deadline: Apr 24, 2019  
CALL EXPIRED

Priorities and activities to be co-financed

1. Priorities

Taking into consideration the perpetual number of manifestations advocating racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance, such as Antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred, Afrophobia, Antigypsyism, anti-migrant hatred, transphobia, hate crimes against persons with disabilities, and considering the need to further improve responses to these phenomena, the three priorities below shall be financed.

Whereas several measures and initiatives are listed, it is not requested to include all of them in a single project. Projects with a strong focus are very much valued.

1.1. To prevent and combat racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance

With a focus on:

• measures to foster a better understanding and improved dialogue among different groups and communities, as well as building on the role of community leaders, youth and multipliers, on how they can contribute to such dialogue;
• concrete measures and initiatives to prevent and combat manifestations on the ground for racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance, in particular hate crime and hate speech;
• initiatives aimed at empowering, supporting and protecting groups, communities and individuals affected by manifestations of intolerance, in particular hate crime and hate speech;

Particular focus shall be on (i) stepping up the prevention and the fight against Antisemitism, as well as (ii) tackling intolerance and discrimination against Muslims, via:

(i)

• measures that prevent and combat all forms of antisemitic prejudices – online and offline – based on common standards and definitions as adopted by the European Parliament and European Council;
• measures that promote Jewish life and/or contribute to better understanding of Jewish traditions, the history and contribution of Jewish people in Europe before and after the Shoah, with a focus on local contexts and research.
• measures that foster knowledge and education about the Shoah for certain target groups, such as young people, develop new forms of remembrance in the light of dwindling knowledge about the Holocaust.
• measures that encourage communities to collaborate or, support the creation and running of networks of organisations (NGOs or state authorities) engaged in the prevention and fight of all forms of Antisemitism. Such networks can be geared towards the general public or specific groups;
• measures that develop and implement effective support for victims of antisemitic incidents and/or improve the data collection of various forms of antisemitic incidents and/or raise awareness of antisemitism being a societal threat.
• measures that aim at diminishing the perception gap of the threat of Antisemitism between the Jewish community and general population or foster knowledge about various forms of modern antisemitism.

(ii)

• measures to address negative stereotypes, intolerance and hate speech (including online) against Muslim minorities. In particular, through education and awareness raising activities including community work that builds on the role of community leaders, youth and multipliers;
• initiatives to address specific forms of discrimination against Muslim women, including online and in particular in access to services and the job market.

Indicative budget for priority (1): € 3 000 000

1.2. To monitor, prevent and counter hate speech online

With focus on:

• measures and initiatives made by key actors collaborating (e.g. public authorities, civil society and private companies) to counter hate speech online on social media platforms/internet companies;
• education and awareness raising initiatives, in particular for youth, concerning hate speech and the promotion of tolerance narratives online;
• studies that investigate and map the triggers of hate speech and the strategies of extremist groups fueling hatred, as well as on the connections between hatred online and hate crimes in daily life.

Indicative budget for priority (2): € 2 000 000

1.3. To improve national authorities’ capacity to respond to racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance

With focus on:

• Initiatives aimed at building capacity of national authorities to ensure better application on the ground of hate crime and hate speech legislation;
• Measures aimed at setting up and/or improving victim support systems and services for victims of hate crime and hate speech, addressing underreporting, building trust between communities and public authorities;
• Measures aimed at setting up and/or improving hate crime and speech recording and data collection practices at national level;
• Initiatives aimed at fostering cooperation and partnerships between public authorities, civil society and community based organisations to improve responses to racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance at national level.

Indicative budget for priority (3): € 2 000 000 (restricted to public authorities)

2. Description of the activities

Whereas numerous activities are listed below, it is not requested to include all of them in a single project. Projects with a strong focus and implementing a limited type or number of activities are very much valued. Activities specifically targeting the objectives of preventing and fighting Antisemitism and of tackling intolerance and discrimination against Muslims are of particular interest.

2.1. To prevent and combat racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance, activities shall consist of:

• mutual learning and exchanges of good practices;
• coalition building, capacity building and training;
• community and victims' empowerment and support;
• interreligious and intercultural dialogue;
• dissemination and awareness raising initiatives;
• development of concrete tools, practices and interventions;
• inclusive education and awareness raising activities and tools, in particular geared towards young people, law enforcement agencies and other state authorities and multipliers such as media, educators and trainers – online and offline;
• campaigns, studies and training activities;

In particular, in stepping up the prevention and the fight against Antisemitism, activities shall consist of:

• measures increasing the knowledge about Jewish life in the past and today;
• measures that support remembrance of the Shoah;
• support of victims of antisemitc incidents;
• data collection of antisemitic incidents;
• awareness raising of Antisemitism as a societal threat.

2.2. To monitor, prevent and counter hate speech online, activities shall consist of:

• awareness raising, multi-stakeholder actions and campaigns;
• promotion of digital skills and critical thinking, and education;
• data recording, analysis of trends, triggers and landscape of online hatred.

2.3. To improve national authorities' capacity to respond to racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance, activities shall consist of:

• development of concrete tools, practices and interventions at national level;
• capacity building and training activities for national authorities;
• designing and implementing national frameworks, strategies or plans of action;
• mutual learning and exchange of good practices between Member States.

Activities must take place in countries participating to the REC Programme to be eligible for funding.

3. Expected results

Whereas numerous results are listed below, it is not expected for a single project to produce all of them. Projects bringing limited but effective results are very much valued.

3.1. To better prevent and combat racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance, in particular through:

• strengthened coalitions, cooperation and exchange of information among key actors such as civil society organisations, community based entities, equality bodies and national human rights institutions as well as national/regional/local authorities to address manifestation of racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance, and in particular hate crime and hate speech;
• increased capacity and improved structures, tools and practices to prevent and counter manifestations of racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance, and in particular hate crime and hate speech (e.g. better implementation of hate crime and hate speech legislation, improved support to hate crime victims and increased number of reported incidents, improved hate crime recording and data collection);
• increased resilience, empowerment, and rights awareness of groups, communities and individuals affected by manifestations of racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance, in particular hate crime and hate speech;
• effective development and implementation of prevention measures addressing manifestations of racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance;
• increased awareness of the general population on the impact of racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance;
• better understanding and improved dialogue among different groups and communities.

In particular, to (i) step up the prevention and the fight against Antisemitism, as well as to (ii) tackle intolerance and discrimination against Muslims, through:

(i)

• improved awareness of Antisemitism and reduced perception gap on the threat of Antisemitism between the general population and the Jewish people;
• improved awareness of Antisemitism as not only a human rights violation and a threat to Jewish people, but a threat to society at large and democratic values;
• increased knowledge about Jewish life, including in local contexts;
• increased knowledge about the various forms in which Antisemtism expresses itself;
• empowered target groups addressing Antisemitism, to speak up and thereby increase civil courage and societal cohesion generally;
• continued remembrance of the Shoah;
• increased knowledge about other victim groups through coalition building ad networks;
• improved victims support and data collection;

(ii)

• enhanced awareness by the general public, public authorities as well stakeholders and consequent prioritisation of public policies and private practices addressing persistent intolerance, hate speech and discrimination against Muslims;
• strengthened inter-community efforts and mutual cooperation between the Muslim and the other communities (e.g. Jewish community) to jointly respond to societal challenges of intolerance and racism targeting them;
• increased capacity by policy makers and practitioners to collect data, recognise and address biases, stereotypes, and negative narratives against Muslims in the national contexts.

3.2. To better respond to the proliferation of hate speech online, in particular through:

• increased knowledge on the phenomenon of hate speech online, in particular: (a) how it proliferates across the internet and social media platforms; (b) how it spreads as a consequence of specific events and narratives; (c) what strategies are behind hate speech “storms” online (extremist groups, trolling, etc.); (d) systematic collection and recording of hate speech cases and incidents online, through repositories;
• strengthened cooperation between public authorities, civil society organisations and internet companies, in particular in the area of prevention, education and awareness raising about tolerance and against hatred online, targeting youth;
• increased awareness of the general public on online hate speech, including through the promotion of positive narratives and online campaigns.

3.3. To improve national authorities' capacity to respond to racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance, in particular through:

• improved skills of competent public authorities to effectively investigate, prosecute and adequately sentence hate crime cases;
• improved support to hate crime victims, better awareness of the rights of victims of hate crime and hate speech and increased number of reported incidents;
• improved hate crime recording and data collection systems at national level;
• improved knowledge and awareness of public authorities of the impact of racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance, of current trends and better understanding of the various forms of intolerance and of the legal framework;
• strengthened cooperation and exchange of information among public authorities, as well as between public authorities and other actors such as civil society organisations and community representatives to improve responses to racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance;
• effective development and implementation of comprehensive frameworks, strategies or plans of action to prevent and combat racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance.