Together against Racism - City of Ratzeburg District of Lauenburgische Seen
A UNITED MEMBERSHIP APPROACH IN THE EUROPEAN COALITION OF CITIES AGAINST RACISM (ECCAR)

The City of Ratzeburg and the District of Lauenburgische Seen have applied together for a membership in the European Coalition of Cities against Racism. Both are involved in a common »Partnership of Democracy« since 2017. They participate at the federal program »Living Democracy!« with funds projects against extremism, racism, antisemitism, discrimination projects to promote diversity, equality, empowerment, commitment! (www.partnerschaftdemokratie.de)

Ratzeburg is a town in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It has about 14.800 inhabitants. It is located in a beautiful rural area, surrounded by lakes and forests. The city center is seated on an island in the lake of Ratzeburg. Its history dates back to 11th century and is slawic origin. It is well known for its gothic cathedral and its olympic rowing traditions.

The District of Lauenburgische Seen includes 25 villages surrounding Ratzeburg. It has about 13.800 inhabitants. The district stretches from the City of Lübeck to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It includes lakes and forests and it is characterized by agriculture. The administration of the district ist seated in Ratzeburg. The district has various ties with Ratzeburg,  a common school board, a common council for inclusion, a youth council.

Based on our common experiences in the »Partnership of Democracy« we decided in 2023 to seek a membership with the European Coalition of Cities against Racism (ECCAR). With the help of the ECCAR-City of Lübeck and an intercultural coaching team we developed a 10 Points Action Plan against racism. The city council of Ratzeburg and the district council of Lauenburgische Seen unanimously voted for this Action Plan and the application for membership with ECCAR.

Our stance against racism and discrimination

We want to work against racism not just by projects but in structured way.

We seek for a plan we can develop upon ... into a process of activities.

We want to address a lot of people and institutions to participate in this work.

We want to motivate a lot of people and institutions to join the fight against racism.

We want to address racism equally in the city and the surrounding villages.

We want to learn from best practices from other cities and communities and

We see the common work against racism as a long running commitment.

Where we start from

We have developed a strong network of engaged and experienced people and institutions through our work in the »Partnership of Democracy«.

We have a devoted youth council with a strong attitude against racism.

We have a strong and trusting relationship between city and district.

We have a strong and trusting relationship into our schools and institutions.

We have a long tradition of various projects against racism.

We wont‘t start from zero ...

Our ECCAR-Membership

We are keen of learning about best practice projects against racism.

We are keen on sharing experiences about the work against racism in rural areas.

We are very willing to share our experiences we have made with working against extremism, antisemitism, discrimination and racism in our rural areas.

Joint website for work in ECCAR: https://herzein-rassismusaus.de