In contemporary Europe, we are witnessing the vanishing of anti-racism from political cultures and academic discourses, in favour of an approach that intervenes on immigrants and minorities themselves via public rhetoric on integration. This conference will thus bring together an international community engaging in debates on racism and anti-racism to discuss the analytical approaches and main findings of the European research project TOLERACE - The semantics of tolerance and (anti-)racism in Europe: public bodies and civil society in comparative perspective, coordinated by the Centre for Social Studies.

Presentation

In contemporary Europe, we are witnessing the vanishing of anti-racism from political cultures and academic discourses, in favour of an approach that intervenes on immigrants and minorities themselves via public rhetoric on integration.

This conference will thus bring together an international community engaging in debates on racism and anti-racism to discuss the analytical approaches and main findings of the European research project TOLERACE - The semantics of tolerance and (anti-)racism in Europe: public bodies and civil society in comparative perspective, coordinated by the Centre for Social Studies.

The debate will focus on key issues that bring about an in-depth analysis of racism and anti-racism, such as the historical legacies of national formation processes and colonialism, contemporary political developments in European contexts, and the role of academia and social organisations in policy advice.

The event is intended as an opportunity to engage with policymakers, academics, political activists, journalists and stakeholders at local, national and European levels, discussing the difficulties of addressing racism in contemporary European contexts, as well as to propose a way forward by identifying approaches and key areas in which a sound debate on anti-racism can be constructed.

• Free registration : http://www.ces.uc.pt/eventos/index.php?id=6517&id_lingua=1&pag=6588 
• English-Portuguese translation services available

Programme

February, 19th

9:30-10:00 Welcome and Registration

10:00-11:00 Critical interventions in contemporary European politics: the future of an anti-racist agenda

Chair: Maria Paula Meneses (CES)

Boaventura de Sousa Santos (Director of CES), Silvia Maeso (CES) and Marta Araújo (CES)

11:00-12:00 Keynote address: Jorge Sampaio (former UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations)

Lunch break

14:00-16:30 Anti-racism and policy developments in education and employment

Chair: Frank Peter (EUV/U. of Bern)

Presentations of TOLERACE case studies:

• Portugal, M. Araújo (CES) - education
• Basque Country, María Martinez (UPV) - education
• Denmark, Tina Jensen (SFI) - employment
• UK, S. Sayyid (CERS, U. of Leeds) - employment

Comments: Eva Smith-Asmussen (Chair of ECRI’s Working Group on Discrimination in Employment, European Commission) and Robert Rustem (European Roma Rights Commission)

Discussion

17:00-18:00 Keynote address: David T. Goldberg (University of California, Irvine)

February, 20th

9:30-11:00 (Anti-)racism and the media

Chair: Ian Law (U. of Leeds, CERS)

Presentations of TOLERACE case studies:

• Italy, Simona Pagano (EUV)
• Spain-Andalusia, Ángeles Castaño (U Sevilla)
• Germany, Hakan Tosuner (EUV)

Discussion

11:15-13:00 Documentary "Era uma vez um arrastão"/ "The Beach Rampage That Never Was", Diana Andringa (2005) | Presentation by the documentary’s director

Comments:to be announced

Discussion

14:30-15:30 Keynote address: Ramón Grosfoguel (U. of California, Berkeley /Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris)

16:00-18:00 Closing Session and Round table: "The state, academia and policy advice"

Chair: Silvia Maeso (CES)

Opening intervention: Kwame Nimako (U. of Amsterdam)

Discussion: Javier Sáez (Gypsy Secretariat Foundation, Spain), Arzu Merali (Islamic Human Rights Comision, UK), Mamadu Ba (SOS Racismo, Portugal) and Sandew Hira (Internationaal Institute for Scientific Research, The Netherlands)

18:30-19:30 Closing keynote address: Pedro Bacelar de Vasconcelos (Universidade do Minho)