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(English) The FIR in preparation for its XVIII regular congress
13. November 2019
From 29 November to 1 December 2019, the XVIII regular congress of FIR will take place in Reggio Emilia. Three years after the Prague congress, the member federations will make a balance of the political work and the changes of the framework conditions. The three core messages of FIR work are: „Never again war!“, „Never again fascism!“ and „Preservation of the memory!” They will stand in the center of the consultation.
Wars take place with European participation in different parts of the world. The FIR as UN „ambassador of the peace“ steps against it for non-military conflict solutions and engages itself – f.e. in May 2018 – together with the Serbian member federation SUBNOR for regional peace solutions. We are committed to international agreements on arms limitation and disarmament.
The slogan „Never again fascism“ is more important than ever due to the growth of extreme right and right-wing populist parties in various European countries and in the European Parliament. If you look at the situation in Austria, Poland, Hungary and – temporarily – in Italy, for example, we see a massive influence of extremely right-wing political parties even on the national governments.
The fateful resolution of the European Parliament of 19 September, in which an open historical revision was carried out in relation to the history of the Second World War and the role of the forces of the anti-Hitler coalition in the smashing of fascist barbarism, is certainly also an expression of the right-wing influence. Such statements are connected with actual attacks on the politics of remembrance and memorials in different parts of Europe. The congress will therefore discuss how we can counter the development of the extreme right.
Therefore the „preservation of the memory“ and the inclusion of the today’s generations into the continuation of the anti-fascist work is a large task for the member federations. It concerns the passing on of the political legacy of the survivors, the preservation of the places of remembrance and the historical-political work in the sense of anti-fascism and international understanding. On the congress is spoken therefore also about the “Train of Thousand” in May 2020 and our contribution for this remembrance.
All these challenges confirm the necessity of anti-fascist and anti-racist work also in the future. For that, powerful and actionable organization in the respective countries and an international umbrella organization like the FIR are indispensable. At the congress, member federations will present examples of their successful work, so that thereby also an exchange of experience becomes possible. Together the FIR federations will think about it how in addition anti-fascist and anti-racist forces can be bundled in networks. Guests are welcome. They must announce themselves however over the member federations and/or directly with the office of the FIR and pay for their travel expenses and accommodation themselves. The FIR office is gladly helpful with the reservation of the accommodation.
