On 11 May 2026, Benedetto Zacchiroli, ECCAR President, together with a delegation from the ECCAR Office, participated in the official handover ceremony of the ECCAR Award 2025 in Esch-sur-Alzette. The city received the award in the category of cities with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants for the project “Women’s Rights, Women’s Resistance & International Solidarity in the Focus of International Women’s Day”, a series of events organised in 2024 exploring the links between racism, discrimination and misogyny. The handover ceremony highlighted the importance of cooperation between local authorities and civil society actors in addressing racism and violence against women and queer persons, while reaffirming the essential role of local action in strengthening solidarity and social cohesion across Europe.
The Awarded Project
The project, which was selected by the ECCAR Scientific Advisory Board and approved by the ECCAR General Assembly 2025 in Zurich, consisted of a series of events organised to mark International Women’s Day 2024. This project forms part of the City of Esch’s strategic priorities, in particular the implementation of an intersectional approach to gender equality policies, in order to take into account the realities and needs of all women, including racialised women. It is important that the debate on gender equality adopts a nuanced and non-ethnocentric approach and avoids approaches that fall into a ‘white-centred’ logic, whilst also being anti-racist. The innovative nature of this series lies in the involvement of various civil society actors, as well as in its participatory approach aimed at the public, combining artistic expression, interventions in public spaces, film, debates and personal testimonies to raise awareness of the realities faced by racialised women, refugee women and women living in conflict zones. The project was thus able to promote international and intercultural solidarity among women.
Several events were organised by an extensive network of civil society and public sector partners, including the City of Esch, notably a collective creative workshop led by the Syrian artist Dima Alrefai, as well as an interfaith Iftar for women, promoting encounters and intercultural dialogue among women. A film screening and discussion evening centred on the film “Seven Winters in Tehran” also took place at the Ariston. Furthermore, a Living Library on the theme of “Human Rights - Women’s Voices” enabled women from very diverse backgrounds to share their personal stories of resistance. The conference “Women - Life - Freedom - Resistance” highlighted the struggles and journeys of women from Iran, Afghanistan and Egypt. Finally, the exhibition “Pictures for Human Rights”, inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the “Let’s Display Equality” (Affichons l’égalité) initiative, featuring 40 temporary street signs honouring pioneering women in the defence of human rights, alongside a related video campaign, rounded off this series of initiatives.
Why the Project Was Selected
The ECCAR Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) praised the project’s intersectional approach, recognising that gender policies can risk excluding racialised women if these dimensions are not adequately addressed. The Council also highlighted the project’s attention to the links between racist, sexist and misogynistic inequalities and discrimination, as well as its commitment to promoting gender equality policies that reflect the lived realities of women in all their diversity, in line with the political engagement of Esch-sur-Alzette in implementing the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life. Furthermore, the SAC underlined that the initiative contributes to a better understanding of, and therefore a stronger response to, subtle forms of racism such as microaggressions, everyday racism and stereotypes.
Looking Ahead
The City of Esch-sur-Alzette will continue promoting intercultural dialogue and combating racism through awareness-raising initiatives, communication activities, training and non-formal education projects. The Municipal Pact for Intercultural Living Together, signed on 24 November 2024 between the Ministry of Family Affairs, Solidarity, Living Together and Reception and the City of Esch-sur-Alzette, will play a central role in these efforts. While the first actions focusing on reception and orientation are already being implemented, a second participatory cycle based on citizen consultations will soon begin. The close collaboration between Esch-sur-Alzette and ECCAR will remain a key pillar of the city’s anti-racism and anti-discrimination work. As a member of the ECCAR Steering Committee, the city will also continue contributing actively to shaping ECCAR’s strategic direction and participating in its working groups.
Acknowledgements
ECCAR warmly congratulates the City of Esch-sur-Alzette, the organising partners and initiative leaders involved in the project (ACAT Luxembourg; Musée National de la Résistance et des Droits Humains; Fata Luxembourg asbl; Formation et Sensibilisation Luxembourg asbl; Iranian Diaspora asbl), the contributing partners (Dr. Farah Dustdar; Shole Pakravan; Dima Alrefai; Amnesty International Luxembourg; Escher Theater; Pictures for the Human Rights e.V.), and the speakers and moderators of the round-table discussions and the Living Library.
