For 4 Days the Heart of Italy Functioned as the Heart of Europe
From 4th – 8th May more than 80 representatives from 36 European countries participated in the UNITED conference, “Dissolving barriers” in Rieti, Italy. UNITED, an European network consisting out of more than 560 NGOs who are against nationalism, racism, fascism, and in support of migrants and refugees organizes the UNITED-conference on a bi-annual basis. Anti-racist- and anti-fascist-activists and also experts on the fields of migrants and refugees came together to:
- empower and strengthen the European network against racism and multiple discrimination
- exchange information and knowledge about organized projects and initiatives
- discuss the current situation of migrants and refugees in Europe
- to develop new and innovative initiatives and projects within Europe
Special attention is also given to the topic islamophobia, antisemitism and the role of politicians and the media in particular. The representatives worked in working-groups to develop different anti-racism, anti-discrimination and anti-fascist campaigns for the upcoming months to be carried out all over Europe. In regard to the international refugee day on the 20th of June special activities were also developed. The delegates were presented with a shocking list of documented deaths of 6336 human beings who were trying to cross borders of Europe. The conference decided to take action against “Fortress Europe” immediately.
The next UNITED-conference will take place in November 2005 in Cyprus. During the next meeting the proposed projects and initiatives will be evaluated and once again new initiatives will be developed to further dissolve the barriers.
May 2005
