The “Winterthur Days of Action for Respect and Diversity!” from August 27 to September 5, 2021 offer a diverse program and enable the discussion of various forms of discrimination and exclusion.
Exclusion, xenophobia, sexism and racism are also widespread in Switzerland and are usually expressed subtly in everyday life. The respectful coexistence in diversity is a central issue for the city council. With his decision to launch the “Days of Action for Respect and Diversity!” held annually, the city council not only sends an important signal against discrimination and exclusion, but also makes the city a member of an international network that works together against racism, discrimination and xenophobia.
The program for the first days of action in Winterthur is colorful and spread across the city. The festive prelude on August 27 is the opening of the exhibition “For Respect and Diversity!” by the photographer Milad Ahmadvand in the foyer of the superblock. The artist captured the wishes, dreams and perspectives of different people who live and work in Winterthur in pictures and in a video clip and supplemented them with statements from the city council. A digital photo project by the artist and film producer Yvonne Apiyo Brändle-Amolo encourages young people with a migration background to seek professional positions that they would otherwise not seek for lack of opportunities. Under the motto “our heart beats red and white, our world is colorful”, FC Winterthur uses portrait photos of its club members to show how colorfully mixed and varied sport and club life in Winterthur are. A city tour specially designed for the action days by the Kehrseite association explains to what extent racism served as an ideological justification for colonialism and how Winterthur was and is affected by it. In the digital workshop with LGBTQ expert and feminist author Anna Rosenwasser, interested parties can learn how to deal with homophobic hate speech. The “Parcours for Respect” of the feminist collective Winterthur invites you to actively deal with your own attitude, and finally the Diversity Association invites you to the table: Refugees invite you to a joint dinner in order to reduce fears and prejudices by getting to know each other personally.
The four municipal departments for integration promotion, bridge building, diversity management and extremism and violence prevention are responsible for the program of the Winterthur Action Week. It can now be viewed on the website www.stadt.winterthur.ch/respekt.
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