Glossary

Ableism / Disabilityism

denotes the upgrading and downgrading of people according to the abilities attributed to them, which leads to discrimination against chronically ill and disabled people. Ableism is based on a physical and psychological ideal standard of the human being, which chronically ill and/or disabled people cannot live up to. Consequently, they are considered "inferior". On a social level, it means that disabled and/or chronically ill people are often excluded and made invisible. (Adopted from https://leidmedien.de/begriffe)

Age discrimination

is specified as ageism - i.e. the discrimination of people at an advanced age and epiphanism - i.e. prejudice against younger people.

Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism appears in different forms and has adapted to the respective contexts over the centuries. Anti-Semitism is not about the individual, but about the principle of 'Jew', which is associated with conspiracy-theoretical and inhuman attributions. In contrast to other forms of discrimination, the supposed axis of power does not run from the top down, as in racist patterns of thought, but from the bottom up: A small powerful group is constructed as being responsible for the misfortunes of a large community. Anti-Semitism includes both the directly expressed hatred of Jews as well as ideas and argumentation patterns that express conspiracy thinking, denial and relativisation of the Shoah, calls for boycotts of Israeli productions or, for example, an equation of Israeli policy with the crimes of the National Socialists.

Awareness

Awareness bedeutet, einen rücksichtsvollen, verantwortungsbewussten und solidarischen Umgang miteinander zu etablieren und zu pflegen. Es sollen Räume geschaffen werden, die die Selbstbestimmung verschiedener Communities stärken - parteilich und solidarisch. Mit Awareness-Arbeit lernen wir gemeinsam, die Grenzen aller zu respektieren und Diskriminierung und Gewalt entgegenzutreten. Und wir lernen, wie wir Personen unterstützen, die diskriminierende Erfahrungen machen (müssen).

Barriers

(In)visible barriers impede access opportunities, both in the spatial sense and through language barriers and resources. Are flyers only available in German? Can posters be read aloud by speech recognition software? Are only cis people addressed? Are there access possibilities with low financial resources?

BIPoC

stands for Black, Indigenous, People/Person of Colour and is a self-designation of people who experience racism because they are not perceived as white or 'German'.

Care work

Feeling responsible for respecting boundaries at an event and supporting those affected if necessary is a lot of work. Often, the commitment of women and genderqueer people in this field is still taken for granted with little to no remuneration. Adequate remuneration should be standard.

Cisgender, Cissexual

is a person who identifies with the gender assigned at birth. The term is important for trans* people, but problematic for intersex people because they are made invisible or wrongly assigned to trans* due to the juxtaposition of cis and trans. It should therefore be used with caution.

Composition of the team

A team with many different perspectives is better placed to identify and minimise discrimination. Think about how you can spread your job search to other networks, approach people from different communities. Create a climate in your team where people with different experiences of discrimination can feel comfortable (see training).

Confidentiality

Self-determination about one's own story is often enormously important to those affected. Those seeking support should not have to worry about whether and how their story makes the rounds - even within the event crew. It is important that confidentiality is taken seriously and cases are discussed anonymously and not outside the predefined circle.

Consensus

(consensuality) is the attempt to take all needs into account. The people involved are in a transparent process to create a common solution. Consensuality is a method of reflecting and communicating personal and sexual needs, boundaries and desires.

Defining power

describes the right of persons who have experienced (sexualised) violence to define what (sexualised) violence is. It is about putting the focus on the subjective experience. Affected persons should not be put under pressure to justify themselves.

Discrimination

is a social phenomenon of disadvantage, segregation and devaluation. Groups or individuals are disadvantaged, devalued and oppressed on the basis of (supposed) characteristics. Discrimination as a complex process results from the combination of dynamics of stereotyping, prejudice, categorisation and power relations.

Diversity

means diversity. People and bodies are diverse. In this context it means diversity in terms of gender, sexual orientation, origin, skin colour, religion, age, etc.

Empathy

We can develop our intuition when we deal with our own and other people's experiences, feelings and needs. Often we have a good intuition for dealing with affected persons and discriminating/violent persons. Nevertheless, reflect on your impulses to act and check which reflex they might originate from.

Empowerment

is a process of self-empowerment and means actively determining the circumstances of one's own life or a situation or regaining self-determination. One's own (action) abilities are strengthened and resources are released.

Findability

How can the awareness team be found during an event? Is there a fixed station? Or is it better to walk around in order to be able to address visitors directly? In any case, it helps to have clear identification that is visible from a distance and from different directions.

Further education

For good, reliable awareness work, regular training is necessary - for the awareness team and other crew members. Awareness also means being aware of one's own gaps in knowledge and dealing constructively with new areas of experience or forms and levels of discrimination.

Homophobia

describes discrimination against lesbian and gay people. The basis is 'heteronormativity', i.e. the (unconscious) expectation that all people are cisgender and heterosexual. Other gender identities and forms of desire are devalued, excluded or made invisible. The * stands for people who do not move in the categories of 'man' or 'woman'.

Intersex

(intersex person, intersexuality) refers to the congenital presence of genetic and/or anatomical and/or hormonal sexual characteristics that do not correspond to the gender norms of male and female. Correct translation of the English term "intersex". (from "Inter and Language" https://oiigermany.org/inter-und-sprache/)

Learning process

Awareness is a learning process. Sometimes, despite good intentions, we produce new injustices or react inappropriately in a stressful situation. Communicate openly where people can go with criticism and feedback. Don't sweep anything under the carpet and take responsibility, be open and honest about your mistakes and learn from them!

LGBTIQ*

stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer (in German: Lesbisch, Schwul, Bisexuell, Trans*, Inter*, Queer). The * indicates that the list is not complete or fixed.

Lookism

is discrimination on the basis of appearance and supposed 'positive' and 'negative' external characteristics, e.g. in relation to clothing, body shape, style. The basis is a standardised ideal of beauty and the assumption that a person's value or competences are related to it.

Othering

Othering describes the process in which people are constructed as supposedly different or "foreign" on the basis of certain characteristics. A group is constructed on the basis of an assumed or factual affiliation in terms of race, religion, culture, etc. Certain characteristics and behaviours are attributed to this group. Certain characteristics and behaviours are attributed to this group, which in turn are transferred to the individual. These attributions go hand in hand with a devaluation of the supposed "others" and serve to define and valorise one's own group, the "we".

Partiality

An awareness team acts impartially in the sense of the persons concerned. This means that those affected are given a protected framework in which to talk about their experiences without being confronted with doubts or even accusations of guilt. What is told is not judged and is accepted as it was experienced.

Patriarchy

literally means domination of the father. The word is used to describe a society in which masculinity is valorised and femininity devalued. It means that men shape, control and represent society.

Privileges

Privileges are often referred to as social advantages that people have because of their supposed membership in a socially constructed group. Privileges open up possibilities and spaces for action. People to whom a social 'normality' (e.g. white, male, cisgender, able-bodied, etc.) is attributed are considered privileged. Positions that deviate from this, i.e. the supposed 'others', are disadvantaged, i.e. discriminated against.

Quota-x

Do not invite people at the last minute because you feel you are missing a diversity factor in the event. Use different networks early on in the search for suitable people and invite people with different life realities (see together).

Racism

arose at the time of colonisation. Attempts were made to scientifically justify the exploitation and enslavement of people in Africa, South America and Asia with the superiority of the 'white race'. The race theory and the division of people according to biological criteria have long been refuted by researchers and were pure fiction. But the ideas that emerged at that time still live on. Thus, people continue to be differentiated according to physical characteristics such as skin colour, shapes of eye, nose and mouth, hair structure or according to features people wear on or on their bodies, such as a hijab, and condemned as 'inferior', 'alien' or 'abnormal'. There are different forms of racism: Muslim:inhobia, racism against Sinti and Roma, ethnopluralism, anti-Black racism. A subtype is cultural racism, which is always present when ways of life, customs and traditions are judged as negative and inferior to one's own culture (see also DaMigra, 2019, Speak Up Sister!).

Rework

A detailed and transparent follow-up is essential - for further discussion and reflection. Write shift protocols (make sure they are anonymous). Talk afterwards as an awareness team about how you felt in situations, what went well and what did not go well. Set up a buddy system: Each person has a 'reference person' in the team who informs them, with whom they exchange ideas and through whom they are supported. Organise regular supervisions.

Safer-use

Among other things, we consume music, media, information, but also substances. From alcohol to ecstasy - mind-altering substances are used at many events. Depending on the type of event, employees should have knowledge about the effects of such substances in order to be able to assess emergency situations. Safer use tips can help to avoid emergencies. Supporters should always work sober.

Security

It is important for organisers to be aware and open about the fact that assaults and discrimination can occur in any space. But an event can be designed in such a way that those affected can be sure that their concerns will be listened to and dealt with in a trusting and responsible manner.

Self-designation

People are often titled with categories or designations to which they do not feel they belong or which they themselves would designate differently (foreign designation). Self-designations, on the other hand, are names that a socially marginalised group chooses for itself. An example of this is BIPoC (see Glossary). Which pronoun does a person want to be addressed with? If there is uncertainty about how a person or group wants to be addressed or referred to, it is good to ask. Expressions like "The person is read by me as ..." leaves the actual affiliation to a group open.

Sexism

denotes devaluation on the basis of biological and/or chosen gender identity. Socially affected are women and people who do not conform to the male gender norm. Sexism is a form of oppression of → patriarchy.

Social chauvinism

means discrimination against people on the basis of their social origin or ascribed social position in society. Social chauvinism mainly affects people who are unemployed and affected by poverty, homeless people, workers or people with no or low education.

Together

Cooperation with groups and associations that know more about certain topics is irreplaceable! Ensure exchange and cooperation at eye level and empower each other. Check which perspectives are missing in your team and, if necessary, look for self-advocacy organisations, migrant self-organisations, associations of marginalised artists and speakers, education and awareness-raising projects.

Trans*

Trans* (transident, transgender)is an umbrella term that encompasses the widest possible variety of life designs and self-designations that do not conform to the cis norm (from transinterqueer.org).

Trans*phobia

describes discrimination against people whose sex assigned at birth does not match their gender identity.

Violence

(alsosexualised violence) is an exercise of power and describes actions that are carried out against a person's will. (Sexualised) violence can occur in different forms: Psychological or physical, in the form of boundary violations, harassment, assault and discrimination. Language is also a means of power and can involve violence. For example, through foreign names (see A to Z: M), misgendering, etc.

X-factor

The search for truth does not only enjoy great popularity in TV series. This is precisely why it is important not to give in to this reflex in anti-discrimination work. We are not detectives. Our goal is to give those affected an unbiased hearing and to support them in their cause.

Anchoring awareness – Strengthen democratic spaces and participation in structurally weak regions of Eastern Germany

2026

Eastern Germany

The project aims to strengthen democratic, diverse and discrimination-sensitive structures in structurally weak regions of Eastern Germany, particularly in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. Many civil society actors are committed to democracy and cohesion there, yet there is often a lack of professional awareness structures in dealing with discrimination and violence. Building on the previous experiences of the Initiative Awareness e.V. in Saxony, awareness work should be specifically expanded, especially in rural areas where the need for supported offers is particularly high.

Through information events, workshops, consultations, process support and networking meetings, associations, initiatives and committed individuals are supported to act in a discrimination-sensitive manner, take responsibility and create safer spaces for participation. The goal is to sustainably anchor awareness in local structures, strengthen civil society networks and secure democratic spaces in the long term.

Funding:

The project "Anchor Awareness – Strengthen Democratic Spaces and Participation in Structurally Weak Regions of Eastern Germany" is funded by Heidehof Stiftung GmbH.

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