{"id":1379,"date":"2026-04-21T16:52:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afars.fi\/fi\/?page_id=1379"},"modified":"2026-05-16T11:32:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:32:38","slug":"action-3-advocacy-campaigns-and-policy-influence","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/afars.fi\/fi\/index.php\/action-3-advocacy-campaigns-and-policy-influence\/","title":{"rendered":"Action 3: Advocacy campaigns and Policy Influence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Marking of the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Finland 21.3.2026.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Every year on 21 March, the world marks the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination a day rooted in the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, when 69 people were killed by police during a peaceful protest against apartheid in South Africa. This led the UN General Assembly, in 1979, to designate a week for solidarity with people struggling against racism and racial discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2023 AFARS has been engaged in advocacy awareness campaigns in commemoration of the week against racism. This year AFARS uses the day against racism as a moment of collective action, bringing together communities, civil society organizations, academics and policymakers to demand a genuinely anti-racist Finland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2026, AFARS led a week of programming that brought this commitment to life in two powerful ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. A public panel discussion on 19.03.2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. A march for an antiracist Finland through the heart of Helsinki.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Together, the events drew over 300 people and produced a Joint Statement on Anti-Racism in Finland signed by six organizations and addressed to the Prime Minister’s Office; the Ministry of Justice; the Ministry of the Interior, Police; the Ministry of Education and Culture, Members of the Finnish Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The statement called on the Finnish Government to move beyond symbolic commitments and take concrete legislative action: to strengthen hate crime enforcement, protect migrant rights, fund anti-racist civil society organizations, and align Finland’s National Action Plan against Racism (NAPAR) with international human rights obligations. Because zero tolerance for racism must be matched by concrete action not just words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Demonstration for an anti-racist Finland on 21.03<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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    PANEL DISCUSSION<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Panel Discussion: EU Anti-Discrimination Strategy & Finland’s NAPAR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On 19 March 2026, AFARS hosted a public panel discussion at Kalliolan Settlementtitalo in Helsinki, bringing together leading voices from academia, government, and civil society to examine one of the most pressing questions facing Finland today: how do we turn anti-racism policy into real, lived change?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The discussion centred on the EU Anti-Discrimination Strategy 2026\u20132030 and Finland’s National Action Plan against Racism (NAPAR), exploring how these frameworks can be translated into concrete actions that people actually feel in their daily lives. Three expert panellists brought distinct and complementary perspectives to the conversation. Dr Aminkeng A. Alemanji, Senior Lecturer at \u00c5bo Akademi University and Finland’s foremost researcher on antiracism education, offered an academic lens examining racism in Finland through the frameworks of whiteness, Finnish exceptionalism, coloniality, and denial. Katriina Nousiainen from the Prime Minister’s Office shared an insider view of NAPAR’s implementation, scope, and alignment with EU standards. Meg Sakilayan-Latvala, Chairperson of the Anti-Racist Forum and co-author of the ENAR shadow report on Finland’s NAPAR, gave a civil society assessment honest about the gaps between what the policy promises and what communities are actually experiencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The conversation covered hate speech and political accountability, the chronic under-resourcing of anti-racist civil society organisations, the absence of reliable data on racism in Finland, and the role of technology and artificial intelligence in either reinforcing or challenging racial bias. Thirty participants attended, asked sharp questions, and left with a clearer picture of both the obstacles and the possibilities ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    AFARS believes that the public deserves access to these conversations, not just policymakers and academics. Panel discussions like this are part of how we build a more informed, more engaged, and more demanding public. Watch this space for future events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n