Facing Facts

Facing Facts! is an innovative programme led by CEJI aiming to tackle the issue of hate crime and hate speech in Europe. Since its inception in 2011, this initiative has been praised for its role in training on, and advocating for, hate crime monitoring systems that expose overlooked hate motivated acts such as racist, antisemitic, anti-muslim and homophobic hate crimes.

Facing Facts! began as a partnership between four NGOs, with complementary experience in education, advocacy and hate crime monitoring to develop the first ‘train the trainer’ programme on monitoring hate crimes for CSOs. Moving forward, the programme has expanded its network of trainers and partner organisations, since establishing a holistic, multi-stakeholder approach to hate crime monitoring. Facing Facts! has since moved into a new phase, Facing Facts Online, which combines existing training programs into two online courses on identifying, monitoring and countering hate crime and hate speech. With our new EU-funded project, Facing All the Facts!  our organization looks to reach a broader audience, specifically targeting law enforcement and government bodies to achieve institutional change in hate crime perception.

How We Work

Facing Facts! aims to provide a victim-centered approach to hate crime monitoring using dynamic, varied trainings to engage and educate our program participants.  These trainings are assembled using input from our partners, including CSOs and law enforcement representatives. Our programs target a wide variety of groups, including individual activists, civil society organisations, law enforcement, and governmental representatives, creating a diverse network of partners and connections after the completion of trainings.

Our Growing Impact

Our methodologies are consistently regarded as best practice, and our organisation continues to expand our influence, knowledge, and advocacy efforts. We have exclusively represented the civil society initiative at EU-level working party meetings on hate crime prevention and we have been regularly called upon and cited as experts by international organisations in the field, such as the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) and the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI).

Our team has organised international conferences to facilitate dialogue among all relevant actors, including international agencies, national governments, law enforcement and CSOs. This dialogue has contributed to the development of our comprehensive online training courses, and these partnerships have proved to be a necessary step towards fostering institutional change.

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  Education & Training

  We are a leading provider of education and training opportunities that develop respect for diversity and the skills to succeed in a multicultural Europe. We offer a wide range of Diversity Education programmes through well-functioning, self-sustainable national and European structures.

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  Advocacy

  Through our advocacy work, we contribute to policy-making processes dealing with antisemitism, racism, xenophobia, discrimination and diversity education at the institutions of the European Union, the OSCE, and within European organisations and networks active in these areas.

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  Research

  CEJI’s research activities are informing policy development at national and international levels. We have produced reports related to antisemitism, hate crime, and hate speech among other issues. CEJI is also often contacted to help develop the educational resources of other institutions.

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  Jewish engagement

  Many of the humanistic principles ingrained in Europe’s cultural and philosophical heritage are also core values of the Jewish tradition. As a leading European Jewish organisation, CEJI believes that engaging Jewish communities to contribute values, experiences, and ideas is central to Europe’s future as a peaceful, integrated, and just continent.

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  Pillar programmes

  Facing Factstackles the issue of hate crime and hate speech in Europe.
  NOAevaluates EU Member States’ policies to develop plans that address antisemitism.
  Belieforama™provides educational processes and training materials to impact religious diversity and belief issues.