As part of the InRa study »Institutions & Racism« funded by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland, a workshop on the topic »Racism: What response options do the state and administration have?« took place on February 27, 2024. The event served as an opportunity for academics and practitioners to discuss tools for preventing and countering racist practices and attitudes. The workshop was organized by Prof. Dr. Judith Froese and Prof. Dr. Daniel Thym from the University of Konstanz. The venue was the premises of the Representation of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia to the Federal Government in Berlin.

As part of the event, representatives from administration, academia and civil society took part in four panels to discuss ways in which the state and administration can respond to racism.

In Panel 1, Prof. Dr. Towfigh and Prof. Dr. Froese started with a 5-minute keynote statement each, followed by a discussion on the topic »Conceptualization and legal assessment of racism in institutions«. Prof. Dr. Daniel Thym was responsible for the introduction and moderation of the panel.

»The term “racism” is used to refer to various manifestations. Interdisciplinary and public debates are increasingly focusing on state decision-making processes and unconscious behavior. Not all of these forms are necessarily unlawful, and the law is by no means unambiguous; open questions exist in particular with regard to culturalized racism, structural and institutional manifestations and so-called everyday racism. The policy paper “Conceptualization and legal assessment of racism in institutions” provides an overview of this; an in-depth academic discussion can be found in the open access publication “Basic Law and Racism”.«

The results of the workshop will be incorporated into the development of a toolbox.

[Translated by DeepL]