Ro & SuZ Award 2024

Each year at the INACH Conference, we honour two of the founders of INACH, Ronald Eissens and Suzette Bronkhorst, by giving an award named after them.

Having lost our founders, our friends, does not make Magenta unique. More of you have lost dear collegues and friends, Czech Helsinki Committee lost chairman Václav Vlk this year, Never Again Association lost Marcin Kornak ten years ago. And there'll be names we do not know.

For those who are not here today, I lit this candle.

The main goal in our friends' lives was creating a safer, more inclusive online environment. How much that meant to Suzette, I was able to witness in the last weeks of her life.

I spent a heartbreaking night watching over her, 8 days before she died. When Suzette was not talking about the Award — that she wanted to present in Ronalds name — but was trying to rest instead, she got into a really bad shape.

Thinking and talking about the Award and about possible candidates, gave her power to live. Perhaps because fighting discrimination and hatespeech had been Suzette's life's goal. "These young boys of FOA do such a great job" (Sorry ;) she was in her sixties, she was talking about you both as "young boys." ;-)) Jean Hubert Bondo also, "Young guy" (according to Suzette.) "Great work, hope for our future." "What do you think Jolie?" "I don't know, I haven't heard of these organizations, to be honoust.." "Yes, they are both NEW! Started last year! Doing a great job already!" "So, you know them Suzette, it is up to you to decide..."

And when she stopped talking like that, it looked as if she stopped breathing. I grabbed my phone to dial emergency several times. And then she started talking again.

It still gives me shivers when I remember this night. Enfin.

That night, Suzette mentioned 2 candidates specifically: the FOA and Africa Sans Haine, as her top favorite candidates. She also mentioned Never Again — but hey, friends from day 1: that's too easy, or might be considered "Vriendjespolitiek." Favoritism. We can't do that, even though Never Again or Valentín in Spain would qualify.

Today is, almost to the day, 3 years after that conversation on september 30, 2021, with Suzette. Today I am happy, from the bottom of my heart, to present this award to the FOA and Never Again. Needless to say: I fully agree with Suzette. Your FOA-team walks the extra mile. In extremely gloomy times, you know how to present a spark of hope. Not only do you fight the dark forces of antisemitism, but you also offer the volunteers strategies how to cope with exposure to online hate... A marvellous job! The same can I say about Never Again, with your decades-long history of fighting hate-speech and extremism.

For the details of the Jury report I pass the floor to the Award winner of 2023, Dr. Panayote Dimitras. Who is not able to be here in person, as a result of the still ongoing harassment campaign against him and the Greek Helsinki Monitor.

Today, we celebrate two organizations which, like Ronald and Suzette, do not shy away from difficult tasks, not even when there is social headwind.

Our second laureate of 2024 is Nigdy Więcej — which in Polish means "Never Again." This organization has a long history of fighting discrimination and hate. It was founded in 1996 as an anti-Nazi and anti-racism committee. There was a Never Again Magazine, the Music against Racism Festival, and The Brown Book of Shame with data on racist and xenophobic violence and hate speech, and many other publications and initiatives.

"Never Again Association" has had a lot of impact, including the convictions of several Neo-Nazis. They also managed to significantly reduce online sales of Nazi products: more than 31,000 items were removed from shops, certain platforms were closed completely. This work has continued to this day.

In Poland, where the wounds of hate and intolerance run deep, Never Again stands as a powerful voice against extremism, racism, and xenophobia. Their work spans education, activism, and research. They have become a trusted watchdog for monitoring hate crimes and extremist activity. Even in times when the political climate has been challenging, Never Again has continued to investigate and report tirelessly, undeterred by the platforms’ reluctance to remove posts with serious forms of hate speech online, as well as fake news, Russian propaganda and physical threats: their message is that this ineffectiveness of social media platforms affects us all worldwide, as the spreading of harmful content is not confined to borders.

In today’s climate of disinformation and hatred, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the problem. FOA and Never Again Association remind us that there is always a way to fight back.

In closing, I would like to congratulate Nigdy Więcej. Your work embodies the essence of Ronald and Suzette's legacy.

Dear Friends,

I am honoured to receive this award as the representative of the “NEVER AGAIN” Association and I would like to express my great gratitude.

For almost 30 years, the “NEVER AGAIN” Association has been campaigning against racism, antisemitism, and xenophobia, for peace, intercultural dialogue and human rights across the world. We have observed how over years, with the spread of the Internet, social communication changed, and with it, our perception of the world. The internet which had been invented to connect people from the most remote places and cultures, turned out to also be an unusually effective tool of ideological propaganda, shaping hostile attitudes towards minorities and even contributing to genocide. The turning point in both global as well as local communication was the emergence of social media. It is these media that took over the role of the main source of information for millions of people worldwide. But without proper verification, it often turns out to carry a harmful message, bearing disinformation, conspiracy theory or manipulation. From many years’ experience of the “NEVER AGAIN” Association it is clear that the problem of online hate speech is on the rise while tech companies clearly do not feel the need to stand up to the global responsibility that they bear. As part of the Safenet project, coordinated by the INACH network, as well as other initiatives, we document, and report hate speech, but the reaction of the social media platforms remains insufficient.

We are aware of the consequences of hate speech online, how quickly it may contribute to a change of social moods and how easy it is to direct it against people who differ in skin colour, ethnic background, language or religion. Through our activities as the “NEVER AGAIN” Association, we strive to present a totally different, because positive, vision of the world: to see diversity as value, not as danger, and to have ethical responsibility towards another human being. Can social media help in the promotion of peace, respect, and human rights? I believe that this may happen. This message is inscribed into the Ronald Eissens and Suzette Bronkhorst Award, which we have received today. Thank you.

Anna Tatar
“NEVER AGAIN” Association