The workshops held at La Bòbila in Porta (Nou Barris – Barcelona) and at Espai Pomezia (La Florida – L’Hospitalet de Llobregat) were attended by people who have experienced racial discrimination and members of various associations.
On 3 and 17 October, the first ‘Legal Self-Defence Workshops Against Racism’ of this year’s ‘Racial Justice and Empowerment (RJE) 2025’ project took place.
The first of these took place at the Ateneu La Bòbila de Porta in Nou Barris (Barcelona), whilst the second was held at the Espai Pomezia in La Florida (L’Hospitalet de Llobregat). For these two workshops, we were supported by the Ateneu La Bòbila de Porta and LaFundició, respectively.
The “Racial Justice and Empowerment 2025” project is funded by Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council and the Department of Social Rights and Inclusion of the Government of Catalonia.
Attendance at both workshops was high, and the training was attended by a range of people who have experienced racism, as well as others from various organisations representing people of colour.
The workshops are led by Pastora Filigrana García, a Romani lawyer from Seville, who is a regular contributor to La Fragua Projects and one of the authors of the Study Guide to Facilitate the Reporting of Acts that Violate the Right to Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination on Racial and/or Xenophobic Grounds, published last year as part of this same project. Pastora explained in very simple and clear terms how to respond to rights violations motivated by racism and/or xenophobia, with a view to filing complaints or various types of claims, which is the aim of the Study Guide.
Furthermore, our colleague Iñaki Vázquez Arencón, together with other members of the Roma Professional Network, highlighted the need to adopt an anti-racist approach to the issue of under-reporting, shifting the focus away from the victims and towards the sources of existing discrimination, thereby challenging the prevailing narrative that blames the victims themselves for not reporting incidents sufficiently.
The project plans to hold two workshops this year. One will take place on 17 December at the Font de la Mina Cultural Centre (Sant Adrià de Besòs) and the other the following day at the LaFede premises, run by SOS Racisme (Barcelona).
Source: La Fragua Projects
Photos: La Fragua Projects