EFOMW
participated in two days workshop, organised by Open Society Foundation (Open Society Initiative for Europe) during
26-27 November in Brussels
It was two
days of active reflection, mutual learning, and experience sharing on combating
Islamophobia in Europe.
On the
agenda was following:
· discuss specific aspects of
Islamophobia, including counter-terrorism policies; hate crime; Islamophobia in
the media and hate speech; and the impact of legislation, in particular
regarding gender;
· share experience and work to combat
Islamophobia in Western Europe;
· present projects and receive
feedback from fellow participants, as well as Open Society staff and experts;
· reflect on possible approaches and
strategies for organisations and movements to join forces.
Several
organisations from al over the Europe such as ENAR, CEJI, FEMYSO, Fryshuset, HOPE
not hate, Faith Matters, Coexister, ENORB and more, participated and shared
their thoughts, best practices and strategies in this work.
This was excellent opportunity to meet others and hear about the amazing work being done in many places and also the enthusiasm for continuing work.
We had also
opportunity to meet representatives from some European Union institutions and
talk about possibilities and plans for future work against Islamophobia at EU
level.
Timing for
this workshop was just right and we can say that it worked as a start for our
project “Woman against Islamophobia” which has been granted by Open Society Foundation and will be
implemented during December 2015 - March 2017.