USW

With the aim of eliminating racial discrimination, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was established. On this day, human rights are presented in the highest form in accordance with respect for all races, colors, and nationalities.

“How boring and monotone a uniform world would be, one where everyone, cut from the same cloth, thought and lived the same way! Without anything to discover within others, how would we enrich ourselves?”³ This is what the writer and poet “Amadou Hampate Ba” said about human diversity. But even today, many people still view racial diversity through a lens filled with racism and discrimination.

Definition of Racial Discrimination

The definition of racial discrimination is any discrimination, exclusion, or restriction based on race, color, descent, or national origin. This leads to the obstruction or hindrance of recognition of human rights and basic freedoms, or even their enjoyment or exercise on an equal footing in the political, economic, social, or any other field of life.⁴

Forms of Racial Discrimination

1- Interpersonal Racism: preconceived judgment, bias, or discrimination by a white person toward a person of color.

2- Institutional Racism: policies, practices, procedures, and culture of institutions or systems that operate in favor of the white race and also cause harm to people of color, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

3- Structural Racism: the history, culture, and current reality of racism across institutions.

4- Internalized Racism: adopting stereotypical molds, images, and racist values perpetuated by the dominant white society about the racial group.

5- Internalized Racial Inferiority: accepting and acting upon a lower sense of self rooted in the historical labeling of the individual’s race over multiple generations.

6- Internalized Racial Superiority: accepting and acting upon a superior sense of self rooted in the historical labeling of the individual’s race over multiple generations, with an exaggerated self-image based on race.²

The reason for choosing March 21 as an International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

On this day in 1960, South African police opened fire on a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville protesting against apartheid laws. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, police gunfire claimed the lives of 69 people. This incident became a clear violation of human rights and was based on racial discrimination, which South Africa and many other countries have long suffered from.¹

The goal of establishing this International Day

In 1966, the General Assembly declared March 21 as a day to express the struggle to put an end to apartheid policies in South Africa, and also as a call for the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate racism and promote understanding and equality among all races.

This day also provides an opportunity to focus on the International Decade for People of African Descent, one of the world’s most impoverished and marginalized groups. It is an occasion to evaluate the progress made by countries and determine the actions needed to improve the human rights situation of people of African descent.¹

Despite the progress made by the world in various fields, the retrograde mentality based on racial discrimination is still deeply rooted in many minds. It is inherited across generations, forming an empty circle of bigotry, violations, and endless conflicts.

The Uplifting Syrian Women initiative confirms its rejection of all forms of racial discrimination and its support for the principles of equality and respect for racial diversity. This is based on its belief that differences are a source of wealth and strength in the world.

Also read:

• Human Rights Day
• World Interfaith Harmony Week

• International Day of Human Fraternity

References:

[1] OHCHR

[2] Seattle

[3] UNESCO

[4] OHCHR

On Mother’s Day, there is always an argument about who is the best mother. There’s no such thing as a perfect mum, but rather a mother who has tried to give love the way she learned and received it. A mother gives you life and unconditional love, and her love is permanent despite all the bad and good manners you have. You realize that your relationship with your mother is what your entire life is about when you sit in her lap. Perfection fades in this kind of love, and fear disappears in her arms.

What is the reason behind adjusting one day to celebrate this relationship with all the sanctity it holds? 

Mother’s Day is celebrated in Syria on the 21st of March every year, not only for mothers who give birth but also for those who have raised and provided love and care to children they did not give birth to. 

Was the aim of this day commercial? 

The root of this story goes back to the Greeks and Romans, who used to celebrate and honor the goddesses Rhea and Cybele.

Moving to the modern era, we find “Mothering Sunday,” a celebration in the UK and some parts of Europe that happens to fall on the fourth Sunday of the Easter fasting period. Originally, this day was not only for mothers but also for believers to return to their original church, the one they grew up in, and serve in it. As time passed, children began presenting gifts and flowers to their mothers on Mothering Sunday. However, this practice did not last long and eventually vanished with the emergence of Mother’s Day in the USA in the 19th century by Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis.¹

She has founded local clubs for mothers to teach them how to take care of their children the right way. All of that was before the Civil War. Women’s groups were insistent on unity despite the consequences of the Civil War and its divisions. In 1868, Jarvis organized “Mother’s Friendship Day,” where mothers gathered with Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.¹

Ann Jarvis was not the only one who initiated Mother’s Day celebrations. Julia Ward Howe, in 1870, advocated for the abolition of the death penalty and women’s suffrage. She also proclaimed Mother’s Day as a call for mothers to unite in promoting world peace. In 1873, Howe launched a campaign for “Mother’s Peace Day” to be celebrated on June 2nd each year.¹

After the death of Ann Reeves Jarvis, her daughter Anna Jarvis made Mother’s Day an official holiday to honor and appreciate the efforts and sacrifices of mothers in paving the way for their children’s lives. The day was adopted to pay tribute to mothers and their contributions.

Also read:

• Teachers’ Day

References:

[1] History

In the harvest of the second year of the Uplifting Syrian Women initiative, and with our services reaching over 1000 beneficiaries, we pause for a moment to be proud of our distinctive steps and their impact on us. We see them as building blocks that pave our way toward achieving our goals. What makes this brief report important is to appreciate the efforts of our volunteers, whose number has reached more than one hundred volunteers, who have worked and continue to work for the greater good.

Training sessions and workshops held by the initiative

Over the course of twelve months, the initiative offered more than fifty training sessions. These sessions aimed to provide participants with information that could be basic, intermediate, or even advanced in the field covered by the course. The courses covered various fields and served actual needs in our society. The training topics varied from programming to foreign language courses, engineering software, design programs, scholarships, and language exams (such as IELTS). In addition to modern areas such as artificial intelligence or podcasting.

Training does not end when it is delivered. After these training sessions, we strive to gather feedback from participants to evaluate the service as a whole. The feedback has always been positive, emphasizing the amount of benefit achieved through the sessions. This encourages us to continue our efforts.

The initiative also offered various workshops, reaching a total of approximately 20 workshops. Workshops were considered a convenient and concise way to obtain practical information in fields such as data collection, freelancing, email writing, resume writing, and more.

The initiative’s website

At the beginning of last year, we launched our own website for the initiative to document our achievements and facilitate access to our services and articles for our target audience. With gentle efforts driven by a great force – the power of collaboration – we published nearly 100 articles over the past year, which were the result of the efforts of our teams of content writers, translators, and designers. These articles covered many aspects, including social issues, and mental health issues, and we celebrated international days through our words to remind you of them or introduce you to them, as well as including sustainable development goals.

We also do not forget that the Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative supports in every way it can, so we shared success stories of more than ten young women who have truly blossomed wherever they were, to assure our support for them and spread the energy of change and positive impact among individuals.

Campaigns launched by our initiative

On another note, our initiative launched three campaigns in the past year. The first one was “We Choose Peace,” which is the main campaign of the initiative, as it seeks to achieve sustainable peace in Syria by supporting women. The campaign included a competition and the winner’s work was published along with a brief description of it on the initiative’s page.

The second campaign was a reminder and promotion of awareness during “Pink October” to encourage new healthy habits as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The last one was “Elimination of Violence Against Women” to coincide with the 16 days of activism to support and advocate for women.

In the belief of the Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative in partnerships and collaborations, our initiative participated with the Sanad Development Team in a campaign about the importance of self-learning in the provinces of Damascus and Aleppo. In addition, we attended the Global Share conference and supported the initiative in sharing the stories of individuals and groups who believe in them, their cards, and their goals.

Collaborations held with supportive entities

Believing in the sanctity of cooperation and the importance of what it produces, and that each of us has a unique touch that can be offered with a different impact, the Uplifting Syrian Women initiative has established many collaborations with active entities in the field of education to deliver real and beneficial value to beneficiaries, including:

• Paper Airplanes organization: Paper Airplanes provided the initiative with several important workshops on all levels related to applying for scholarships, learning English, applying for job opportunities, how to write a professional email, and building a resume.
• Prodigy and System and G Egypt initiatives: These two Egyptian initiatives provided several workshops for the benefit of the Uplifting Syrian Women initiative, in addition to granting the initiative some seats for its beneficiaries in their own workshops.
• Sanad Development Team: The initiative, in cooperation with the Sanad Development Team, held a self-learning education tools activity, and at the end of this activity, the initiative provided a free course to teach English to the participants.

These collaborations have helped the initiative to move forward in achieving its sustainable development goals, which it believes in and is working hard to achieve.

The conclusion of the tremendous effort of initiative members

Finally, we are proud to announce that the tremendous effort made behind the scenes has been recognized and honored by receiving the “Most Impactful Initiative Award of the MENA Region.” This award is a recognition of the initiative’s contribution to promoting diversity and achieving gender equality in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The judging committee evaluated the project’s impact, scalability, and reproducibility, as well as the authenticity and clarity of the project presentation. This award is the result of a true belief in the ability to continue and achieve the impossible, and to lift up Syrian women and society after years of bitter war.

None of these achievements and this reach would have been possible without the cooperation of initiative members and their deep and genuine belief in its goals. We can only thank you all, our dear audience, and thank each member of the initiative individually.

We have provided a quick summary of what we have accomplished during the past year and promise to strive with all our efforts to achieve more this year.