Raising young people’s awareness is a vital part of the fight against racism … so Cyprus Youth Clubs Organisation developed the project “colouring against racism”, funded by the Youth in Action programme.

Between February 2012 and February 2013 workshops took place in youth clubs all over Cyprus. The workshops looked at Racism, Xenophobia, Social Exclusion and Social Inclusion and enabled young people to exchange their opinions on the issues from their perspective as young citizens of Cyprus.

Workshops were interactive and experiential. The first workshop, which took place in the Youth Club Dasaki Axnas in Ammoxostos, brought together fifteen young people from youth clubs across Ammoxostos. The workshop included small group discussions about racism, who are the victims, what are the consequences, what is happening in Cyprus? A short film with extreme verbal and non-verbal racism was used to stimulate discussion and role-play allowed participants to “walk in the shoes” of a victimised person. The young people said that this reminded them of how easily misconceptions about victimised groups of people can lead to more discrimination and the real danger of them being made the scapegoat for problems in society.

In another workshop “I’m not a racist but … stay away”, which took place in Youth Club Kivides” 32 young people explored stereotypes and how these colour our expectations. A big topic for discussion was how modern racism is often disguised and people make excuses for racist behaviours – leading to the prevalence of the phrase “I’m not racist but …” The group concluded that stereotypes are developed in the Cypriot community through education, family, media and socialisation.