UNESCO holds the Global Forum against Racism and Discrimination in Barcelona
The fourth edition of this event is being held at the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB) on 10 and 11 December, with political chiefs and public and private institutions from around the world taking part, as well as activists such as the musician Nile Rodgers, the Nobel literature laureate Wole Soyinka and the former football Lilian Thuram. The registration process is now open.
Organised by Barcelona City Council and UNESCO with the collaboration of the Ministry of Equality and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with the Catalan government’s Ministry for European Union and Foreign Affairs, the fourth Global Forum against Racism and Discrimination is being held at the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB) on 10 and 11 December.
This edition of the Forum is preceded and accompanied in the city by the campaign “Lend your voice to fight racism”, raising public awareness and getting people to join the cause against racism with an agenda of over sixty activities promoting the commitment to fight racism under the slogan of “Voices against racism”. The event will be analysing the reality of racial discrimination and how to tackle it through policies and programmes developed at local, national and international levels, and will see the emergence of the new movement called the Global Alliance against Racism and Discrimination. The goal of the movement will be to promote a collaborative focus when it comes to implementing effective and lasting actions in this sphere.
This movement will set out the commitments by the interested parties, establishing a broad network connecting member states with a diverse coalition of professionals, authorities, administrations, researchers, artists and figures from the civil society.
Speakers at the event include Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences with UNESCO, Ana Redondo, Minister for Equality, Salvador Illa, President of the Government of Catalonia, and Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona. Figures such as Nile Rodgers, Wole Soyinka and Lilian Thuram will also be taking part.
The registration process is now open to the public, via this link.
Racism as the main cause of discrimination in Barcelona
According to the latest Report from the Observatory on Discrimination, racism and xenophobia are the main reasons for discrimination in the city. The report indicates that 26.5% of cases of discrimination recorded occur on the grounds of origin and nationality.
In the European sphere, according to the EU Eurobarometer, in 2023 more than 21% of people over the age of 15 affirm they had suffered discrimination in the previous year, despite the under-reporting that exists with these cases.
Barcelona has various resources to guarantee everybody’s rights and build a fairer society. The Office for Non-Discrimination (OND), for instance, helps people who suffer any sort of discrimination, provides legal advice to report cases and works to promote public awareness. Similarly, the BCN Antirumors network brings together various organisations, people and services that work with an intercultural perspective to build a city free of discrimination.
