Elin L’Estrange pictured with pupils from St Raphael’s Girls National School Ballyfermot.
The programme of activities for Show Racism the Red Card were launched yesterday in Tallaght Stadium with an audience of young people and special guests. The programme of activities includes:
- Anti Racism Creative Competition for schools & youth services
- Education workshops for schools & youth services
- Intercultural Summer Camps for young people
- Racist Incident Report Card
- ‘Jeff the Ref’ our sports and events mascot
- 10,000 wristbands
The programme kickstarts with the FARE week of Activities (Football Against Racism in Europe) when FAI Development Officers will be taking the Show Racism the Red Card message to over 100 schools reaching 5,000 young people between 12-24th October.
A highlight of this year’s launch of activities was the presence and speech of Elin L’Estrange from Norway Labour Youth. Elin was one of the survivors of the Uteoya island atrocity of July 22nd when 69 young people were murdered by the racist Anders Behring Breviks.In her speech, she warned against the dangers of ignoring racism. She was praised for her courage by another guest at the event, Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore. 
He called for other politicians to tackle the huge myth of people from abroad getting five star hotels and free cars on social welfare. He said: ‘It is at times like this that you have people looking around saying ‘the people coming to this country are getting everything for free and we are not’. Mr Gilmore promised his department’s funding for the anti-racism campaign and said that past events teach us it is vital not to let racism grow. ‘It led to very bad things in Europe- you know from your history what happened in the 1930s, when Germans got it into their heads that all their problems were because of Jews. And you know where that led’, he said.A new mascot for the campaign was also launched and he spoke as well. Jeff the Ref said he wants to encourage kids to get active in sport and at the same time promote the message because there is no place for racism in sport. 
