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The Information and Documentation Centre for Anti-Racism Work e. V. (IDA)

The Information and Documentation Centre for Anti-Racism Work e. V. (IDA) was founded in 1990 on the initiative of a number of democratic youth organisations in the Federal Republic of Germany. It functions as a service centre to provide information, maintain documentation and offer advice and training on the themes of (counteracting) racism, right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism, anti-racist and intercultural openness, diversity, fighting discrimination and migration in society. 30 associations are currently members of the IDA, including member organisations of the German Federal Youth Council (Deutsche Bundesjugendring), the Council of Political Youth (Ring politischer Jugend), the German Sports Youth Association (Deutsche Sportjugend) and the "Don't harass my mate!" Association (Verein Mach' meinen Kumpel nicht an!) e.V. (These are our member associations).

The IDA is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) and can be supported by becoming a supporting member or through donations. The IDA is a non-profit association whose governing body is made up of representatives of the member organisations. Since 1994, the IDA has been affiliated with the state-wide project IDA-NRW (Information and Documentation Centre for Anti-Racism Work in North Rhine-Westphalia (www.ida-nrw.de)), which sees itself as a driver and supporter of the youth organisations and multipliers involved in youth work in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The tasks of the IDA include the provision of information on observations and developments as regards racism. The IDA collects information on the themes of counteracting racism, right-wing extremism, migration and society, anti-racist and intercultural openness, and diversity, and passes it on to interested individuals or organisations. These are predominantly youth organisations, associations, initiatives, schools and multipliers in the field of youth work.

Racism and right-wing extremism are phenomena that affect the whole of society and that all countries in Europe are having to confront. There are no areas of society that are free from racist or extreme right-wing tendencies and developments. Even where they do not arise in an obvious manner, they are at least present in a latent form. In order to be able to stand up to racism and right-wing extremism, it is first of all necessary to be armed with comprehensive and in-depth information. In this context, the origin and cause of these issues are just as important as their effects and manifestations. Ultimately, these multi-faceted problems need to be dealt with by means of countless different measures. The spectrum ranges from easy-to-comprehend arguments and practical ideas and exercises through to suggestions for possible forms of action.

The IDA provides information and maintains documentation

The IDA gives advice

  • The IDA mediates in the provision of speakers, trainers or moderators for events. The employees of the IDA are themselves also available for these activities;
  • can provide advice in the search for contact addresses of organisations, associations, self-run organisations, initiatives, authorities, integration officers, academic institutions, etc.;
  • offers consultation sessions in project work and can organise events;
  • advises and gives guidance to youth organisations and associations in the process of encouraging anti-racist, diversity-oriented and intercultural openness;
  • advises multipliers and organisations that are active in the key areas of the IDA.

The IDA provides training

  • The IDA organises regular events (specialist conferences, seminars, workshops, training sessions) for both employed persons and volunteers working in the field of youth work and education;
  • organises training seminars for active members of organisations set up by young people who have a background of migration, and supports them in setting up an effective organisational structure;
  • gives guidance to youth organisations and associations in the process of encouraging anti-racist, diversity-oriented and intercultural openness;
  • forms an interface between academia and practical youth and education work.

The IDA publishes

  • The IDA publishes target group-specific reading material on current themes and discussions, with analyses and working materials for youth and education work;
  • publishes flyers in which the key terms and themes are discussed in a compact and precise form;
  • publishes the newsletter Infomail on their website, as well as various pieces of writing on the themes of (counteracting) racism, right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism, anti-racist and intercultural openness, diversity, fighting discrimination, and migration and migration in society, available to download;
  • maintains archives in their Diversity Media Library of educational materials which have been produced in the course of the federal programmes against right-wing extremism, racism and anti-Semitism and in support of diversity, tolerance and democracy, and offers these out to borrow, free of charge.

The IDA collaborates and networks

The IDA supports, initiates and implements projects

  • The IDA supports and initiates projects in the area of anti-racism and intercultural work.
  • The IDA has led and is currently leading a diverse range of projects, e.g.
    • projects in support of anti-racist, diversity-oriented and intercultural openness
    • projects for the evaluation of training programmes
    • projects on taking the right educational approach to themes such as racism and anti-Semitism
    • the Diversity Media Library for the preparation for public use of educational materials which have been produced in the course of the federal programmes against right-wing extremism, racism and anti-Semitism and in support of diversity, tolerance and democracy.

On this website, you can also find comprehensive information on the following themes, in the German language:

  • On the theme of "Refugees and Asylum", you will find a well put together and needs-oriented collection of suggestions for websites and brochures. The information on this theme is intended to provide support to the anti-racist work of youth organisations, multipliers and volunteers, as well as making the work of self-run organisations of refugees more visible and giving them support in finding their orientation. The body of information is regularly amended and makes no claim to be a complete collection.
  • Hate speech: whether it's on Facebook, Twitter or in the comments sections of the daily newspapers – day by day, users compose huge amounts of offensive and derogatory material. Their hate is often aimed at (also assumed) migrants, refugees or people who are perceived to be and defined as being "different" in respect of some personal characteristic.
  • Hate speech is humiliating and hurtful. It is for this reason that many people are standing up against it – they get involved in discussions, delete comments, report them, or try to take things with a sense of humour. And sometimes those involved find that they are not discussing issues with people but rather with social bots. These are robots that like, retweet, make comments and publish "fake news". They are not much different from the trolls who spent hours every day at their keyboards typing hate-filled comments.

In an attempt to do something about hate speech, we provide information on our website on initiatives that are committed to the fight against hate speech, and about how "fake news" can be recognised and which laws are in place to assist in campaigns against hate speech, and we provide information on websites that have taken on the task of encouraging people to take a critical view of internet notifications.

Our specialist sections and projects:

  • Diversity Media Library (www.vielfalt-mediathek.de)
    • The Diversity Media Library is the information portal of the IDA e.V. and is aimed at members of the public with a specialist interest in this area, multipliers in educational work, both within schools and in extra-curricular projects, as well as members of the public who are engaged in work in this area. Via the Diversity Media Library they can download materials free of charge which were produced within the context of the federal programmes. The key focal areas of the materials are as follows:
      • prevention and intervention in the case of right-wing extremism
      • racism
      • anti-Semitism
      • anti-Muslim racism
      • religious fundamentalism
      • intercultural learning
      • teaching diversity and democracy
    • In addition to this, the portal provides information on projects, campaigns and documentation from the federal programme "Living out democracy!" (Demokratie leben!) and the corresponding predecessor programmes which have been run by the Federal Ministry for Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth since 2002. Regularly published podcasts and expert sessions impart background knowledge on the key themes.
    • The information portal can be found at www.vielfalt-mediathek.de. News and suggestions for new additions can be subscribed to on the Facebook page www.facebook.com/Vielfalt.Mediathek.
  • The IDA-NRW (www.ida-nrw.de)
    • Racism and right-wing extremism have for many years been explosive social topics – marches by right-wing extremists, racist slogans smeared on the walls of houses and defended by groups of regulars at local pubs, the desecration of Jewish cemeteries and attacks on synagogues have all increased to an extent that can no longer be ignored. As has always been the case, migrants fear for their lives, even though there is a lack of awareness of this fact among the general public in the German Federal Republic.
    • What is the best way to counteract right-wing extremism and racist thinking and behaviour, in particular among young people? What form could preventative measures take? What are the educational challenges associated with migration in our society?
    • These are the questions that the Information and Documentation Centre for Anti-Racism Work in North Rhine-Westphalia - known as the IDA-NRW - has been addressing since 1994 (IDA). The IDA-NRW directs its provision of services at the specialist staff involved in youth work in both schools and in the extra-curricular context in NRW. The Information and Documentation Centre is also open to other interested parties.
    • The IDA-NRW is funded by the Ministry for Children, Family, Refugees and Integration of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKFFI) and is affiliated to the Information and Documentation Centre for Anti-Racism Work (IDA e.V.).
  • Counselling for Victims in the Rhineland (OBR) (www.opferberatung-rheinland.de)
    • Counselling for Victims in the Rhineland (OBR) initiated its counselling work in July 2012. The organisation provides a state-wide counselling service throughout North Rhine-Westphalia for the victims of right-wing extremist or racist violence, with two possible points of contact – Back up in Dortmund focuses on the area of Westphalia-Lippe (administrative districts of Arnsberg, Detmold and Münster). OBR focuses on the administrative districts of Dusseldorf and Cologne.
    • OBR is a service provided by the Information and Documentation Centre for Anti-Racism Work in NRW (IDA-NRW). This specialist organisation, which is active state-wide in the fields of right-wing extremism, counteracting racism and educational measures related to migration, has been dealing with right-wing extremist violence in NRW since the year 1994, as well as addressing the theme of the right-wing extremist scene and ideologies. A focal point within the context of their educational work against right-wing extremism and racism is the provision of training courses for multipliers in youth social work and for teachers. In addition to this, they also run individual projects such as the counselling network for parents and caregivers of young people who are displaying right-wing extremist tendencies.
    • The legal entity behind the OBR is the Information and Documentation Centre for Anti-Racism Work e.V. (IDA). This organisation, which operates nationwide, was founded in 1990 on the initiative of various democratic youth organisations in the Federal Republic of Germany in order to make a stand against racism. 30 associations are currently members of the IDA, including member organisations of the German Federal Youth Council (Deutsche Bundesjugendring), the Council of Political Youth (Ring politischer Jugend), the German Sports Youth Association (Deutsche Sportjugend) and the "Don't harass my mate!" Association (Verein Mach' meinen Kumpel nicht an!) e.V. The IDA is a non-profit association, whose governing body is made up of representatives of the member organisations.