EURO 2021

With a week to go until the start of Euro 2012, the FARE network programme for Poland and Ukraine is making final preparations ahead of a launch in Warsaw next Friday (8 June). With concerns over potential racism and far-right activity high on the public agenda, the FARE programme includes an unprecedented level of monitoring at matches and a high profile campaign that comes to a focus at the semi- finals of the tournament. FARE has been working with UEFA on a ‘Respect Diversity- Football Unites’ programme that will include […]

Members of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association have actively promoted the ‎message of respect for diversity through a series of international meetings in the run-up to this year’s International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism. On 26-30 October, Anna Tatar repeatedly presented the current activities of ‘NEVER AGAIN’ in the field of hate crime monitoring at the ‘United for Equality’ forum held in Paris. The meeting was convened by Les Maisons des Potes with the participation of anti-racism NGOs from 16 European countries and it featured presentations by several candidates for the […]

The anti-racism ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association has teamed up with the Football is Beautiful Foundation and numerous other partners for a joint ‘Friends of Football Day’ series of events taking place on 8 June to celebrate the power of football to unite across differences and promote social inclusion. More than 300 football matches, community festivals and other grass-roots events were organized across Poland on the ‘Friends of Football Day’, marking the anniversary of the kick-off of the historic European Football Championships which took place in Poland and Ukraine in 2012. A […]

The Poland-Ukraine World Cup qualifying game at the National Stadium in Warsaw provided an opportunity for both nations to celebrate the legacy of Euro 2012 through anti-racism and pro-diversity activities organized by the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association. Thousands of fans and hundreds of journalists received Polish and Ukrainian-language leaflets with information about anti-racist activities run by ‘NEVER AGAIN’ and the FARE network. An anti-discrimination manifesto was read out on the stadium tannoy shortly before kick-off and a video reminding of the Euro 2012 ‘Respect Diversity’ message was shown on the big […]

The FIFA Football World Cup will kick off on 14 June.‎ The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association has participated in several events preceding the big event. Co-founder of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association Rafal Pankowski was invited by the prestigious Cambridge Union debating society to speak at a debate on the forthcoming World Cup in Russia, including the challenges of racism and xenophobia‎, on 10 May. – ‘Should we boycott the World Cup in Russia?’ – asked the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ representative during the Cambridge debate. – ‘It would be a better idea to […]

The National Boxing Gala, announced as the biggest boxing event in Polish history, is to take place at Warsaw’s National Stadium on May 25th. Minister Anna Maria Anders – daughter of the legendary World War II general – who is now the Prime Minister’s plenipotentiary for international dialogue has extended her patronage over the event. Curiously, the gala features Artur Binkowski, a Polish-Canadian neo-Nazi. The bouts are to be accompanied by music performances by pop stars including the famous Polish rapper Liroy who is also a Member of Parliament. The […]

Co-founder of the anti-fascist ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association Rafal Pankowski was awarded the prestigious annual Human Rights Distinction by Poland’s Ombudsman Dr Adam Bodnar in a ceremony held in Warsaw’s Old Town on 25 September. The celebratory speech was delivered by Marian Turski, a Lodz Ghetto and Auschwitz survivor who is Chairman of the Council for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews and Deputy Chairman of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute as well as a member of the International Auschwitz Council. – ‘I am honoured and grateful […]

A new book on Jews, football and antisemitism in Poland has been launched at an international conference organized by the Anne Frank House at Amsterdam Arena, the stadium of Ajax Amsterdam. The book was written by Dr Maciej Kozlowski, a distinguished historian and diplomat, and published by the Warsaw-based ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association. Using the example of Cracovia, Poland’s oldest football club, it discusses the multicultural history of Polish football as well as contemporary issues of antisemitism and racism. The book is published in Polish with an English summary and is […]

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association brought together creme de la creme of Polish sports journalists as well as Members of Parliament, former sports champions and representatives of key institutions to participate in an awards ceremony and an informed discussion on sports and discrimination on the eve of the UN Anti-Racism Day. The ‘Stop racism in sports’ competition for professional print, radio and television journalists covering issues of racism and discrimination was held under the auspices of Elzbieta Radziszewska MP, Deputy Speaker of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) and former Minister of Equality. […]

‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association members and friends were in attendance at the European Medal of Tolerance ceremony held in London on 9 March. The Medal was handed to international football legend Samuel Eto’o and to the FARE network of which ‘NEVER AGAIN’ is a founding member. The distinction is awarded by the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR), established in 2008 by former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor. Speeches in honour of the award recipients were made by Vaira Vike-Freiberga, former President of Latvia […]