Week Against Racism at schools
This year’s Week Against Racism will be taking place on 18–24 March 2024. The theme this year is intervening in racism. The campaign week challenges us all to identify instances of racism and take action against it.
Below are tips for the theme week at schools. We are happy to have you with us!
Big apologies for the technical challenges of the anti-racism week's morning assembly live.
The recording of the broadcast can now be viewed with english subtitles here.
Racism occurs in many forms in the lives of children, both in and outside of the school. Racism is not only insults and bullying, but also something more subtle: different attitudes, prejudices and exclusionary practices.
All forms of racism have an impact on the growth of children and young people and on their opportunities to move forward in life. It is important to identify racism in everyday life, to be aware of prejudices and to take action to dismantle discriminatory practices.
Although adults are responsible for tackling racism, it is important that children are also able to identify racism and act when they encounter it. In the school world, discrimination can be experienced in interactions with other pupils, away from the watchful eye of the teachers, e.g. during breaks. It is important that children know how to intervene in these situations and tell adults about them.
National morning assembly for schools on 21 March at 9.15 am.
The UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination takes place on 21 March. On that day, we will hold a morning assembly for schools via Teams, covering themes such as unpleasant jokes, being accepted into a group and the occurrence of racism in the everyday lives of children and young people. The morning assembly also provides tips for tackling racism.
At the morning assembly, we are joined e.g. by musician Sara Siipola and basketball player Miro Little. The morning assembly is aimed at primary and lower secondary schools, the broadcast starts at 9.15 am and lasts around 15 minutes.
The recording of the broadcast can now be viewed with english subtitles here.
Learning materials for younger and older pupils
Is it easy to be accepted into our group? What kind of joking around doesn't feel good? Do we intervene in racism? These issues are discussed in the updated ‘Together against racism’ learning materials.
You can make use of the learning materials during the Week Against Racism or at any time when there is a need to discuss the issue with the class. All learning materials for the theme week can be found here.
Campaign materials are available now
You can download social media images from the Red Cross material bank and order posters, stickers and other materials for the Week Against Racism for free from the online shop.
