INTRODUCTION Shining in the dark Since human rights became a central concept in the development of the world, there used to be a shared optimism that there is a clear movement towards equality and that getting there, while at times slow, is inevitable. This is no longer the case. With nationalistic political movements gaining traction around Europe, and the world, the promise of human rights for all was put under question – something that we all thought was undebatable after the horrors of World War II. Yet, with its easy narratives and its ability to sоw and harvest discontent, the politics of hate have gained support, including among young people, and have turned against the most vulnerable – ethnic minorities, migrants, people of color, LGBTI people, women. Not only progress for their full social inclusion has been threatened, but some countries see scaling back on policies and further failing to address the structural issues of racism and other forms of intolerance. While traditional forms of racism get increasingly neglected, new racist manifestations – like online hate speech – are escalating in a whole new dimension of the virtual world. While youth work is traditionally linked to topics such as intercultural dialogue, human rights, inclusion and antiracism, it is fair to say that efforts have not been enough. Often, youth work has focused on superficial slogans about tolerance and denouncing extreme manifestations of racism, failing to both understand and deconstruct how deeply racism is embedded in our societies, how omnipresent it is in our cultures, policies and practices and how profound is the need to work with ourselves and our target group to create a truly comprehensive antiracist mindset. It’s been overlooked how racism relates to power, how to deal with the emotional burden that racism is attached to, what modes of thinking and behaviour can be offered as an alternative (for example, good treatment). Furthermore, way too often conversations about racism and intolerance were made without the voices of the people who suffer the most of it. This manual comes in attempt to fill in some of these gaps and answer some of these needs. It is meant to better prepare professionals, volunteers and peers to work on the topic of racism with young people, giving them both more comprehensive conceptual framework
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Constellations . A manual for working with young people on the topic of racism and invisible racism
