On June 5, 2024, a team of representatives from the project ACTION visited the Maó City Hall welcomed by the Mayor Héctor Pons. The purpose of the visit was to exchange best practices, train municipal staff on actions to combat racism and xenophobia, and collect the needs of and establish fruitful cooperation with civil society organizations and communities affected by racism and discrimination in Maó which has been an ECCAR member since 2009.
The visiting team included Marie-Paule N’Guessan from the ECCAR Office, Simone Philipp from the European Training and Research Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (ETC) in Graz, and Klaus Starl, Director of the UNESCO Centre for the Promotion of Human Rights at Local and Regional Levels.
One of ECCAR’s current work foci is to improve the identification of racism in its member cities by supporting them in developing action plans involving the administrative and political level and people affected daily by racism and discrimination and civil society organizations. This is made possible thanks to the collection of comparable data on discrimination that involves all the stakeholders relevant to the adequate progress of the city in combating racism and discrimination and improving the lives of its citizens. Such measures were crucial for the town of Maó in understanding social realities, making effective policy decisions, and monitoring the implementation of municipal policies. During its visit, the ACTION team emphasized the importance of combating prejudice and discrimination through the collaboration of the different administrative departments of the city, which has the full support of its political level.
The support and presence of the political and administrative levels were also visible in the focus group discussion organized in the afternoon with civil society organizations and communities affected by racism and discrimination. This discussion presented the perfect example of a years-long collaboration between the different stakeholders present in Maó. The workshop allowed the various parties to analyze the main points to work on in the city's next local action plan.
The City Hall of Maó will continue to work diligently to prevent racism and discrimination and to move towards a more inclusive and respectful future.
