AVE updates: 2026 Q1
Happy new (lunar) year from all of us at Asian Voices Europe! 🌝 To welcome in the new year, we’re here with our latest updates, a reflection on how colonialism has shaped how we perceive traditional arts and crafts, as well as our opinion on the EU’s inaugural Anti-Racism Strategy (released this January).
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🇪🇺EU Anti-Racism Strategy 2026-2023: While we welcome the change from having an anti-racism “Action Plan” to a “Strategy”, we join many CSO colleagues in expressing disappointment in the contents of the document, which you can read in detail. In summary, we see a chicken-or-egg problem in the current Strategy: There is no European Union-wide data on anti-Asian racism, so there is first funding allocated to AAR since 2025. But to investigate anti-Asian racism, we need data, for which we need resources. We shared our feedback on a consultation session with the Commission on January 23, and hope to see actionable changes in the near future. Read our analysis and a joint statement we co-signed with #DiasporaVote! and other BIPOC organizations.
🌱 New network: We are officially part of ENAR, the only pan-European anti-racism network! Anti-Asian racism being a relatively new topic in the European policy context, we look forward to meeting other anti-racism practitioners from across the European continent, both online and in person.
💡Consulting the European Union: The European Commission has launched the EU Anti-Racism Strategy 2026-2030, leading to a new call for CSOs and academic networks to join its consultative process. We’re happy to see anti-Asian racism specified in this call, which was not the case in the first call, back in 2020. Apply by March 31.
🇸🇪 AVE on the road: Malmö, Sweden
On the 26th and the 27th of November, Hyunjung and Lily participated at the Cross-Sectoral Symposium on Structural Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion in Malmö. Hyunjung presented key insights on anti-Asian racism, drawing from our second survey analysis, and later joined a panel discussion highlighting the crucial role of civil society in advocacy and action. She spoke alongside Cemil Yilmaz from IZI Solutions B.V. and Ariam Tekle, feminist activist, director, and podcaster of Blackcoffee.
Photo by Asian Voices Europe
👩🏫 How to create an anti-racist classroom:
Together with the University of Duisburg-Essen
Psychology students from the University of Duisburg-Essen recently presented a pilot for an anti-racism intervention model for in school settings. Drawing on psychological research and practical realities, the students developed theory-based intervention concepts addressing anti-Asian racism through empathy-building, norm activation, and experiential learning. The final presentations showcase approaches for different age groups and connect the potential of university-CSO collaboration in developing sustainable anti-racism education.
🧡 Together, We Keep Building
We’re proud of what we’ve achieved together, but we know the road ahead is long and we need you with us. Whether it’s sharing our posts, forwarding our newsletter, joining AVE CLUB, making a donation, or just checking in! You’re part of this story.
More updates to come soon. Until then, thank you for walking with us. ✊
– The AVE Team
Author: Hyunjung, Jiye
Editor: Jiye
Image: Asian Voices Europe
