ALTERSUMMIT Invitation

I N V I T A T I O N

Following the decision of the ALTERSUMMIT General Assembly last year, we have the pleasure of inviting you to an European Conference on the far right, racism and neo-nazism to be held  in Budapest on Thursday, 3rd April 2014 from 10 am till 5 pm, followed by a demonstration to commemorate Hungary’s liberation from Nazi Occupation in 1945.

Today, we are experiencing, at a European level, the appearance of  right-wing forces that are, in some cases, linked with movements of an overtly fascist racist, violent and anti-Semitic character. The influence and the extremism of this tendency differs from country to country but the generalised application of draconian austerity policies – with accompanying devastating economic, social and cultural effects – is generating its emergence.

The fight against right-wing extremism is simultaneously social, political and cultural, necessitating rejection of racism sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Islamism and any kind of fundamentalism intended to undermine or limit human rights or divide people. We need to address political and economic rights as well as the connections between racism and both rural and urban socio-economic relationships.

Our methods of counteracting these socially destructive trends have so far not been enough. There is a need to go beyond mere moral support for tolerance and to focus upon slashing electoral support for right-wing extremism and for populist parties. In doing so, we need to bring the emergence of right-wing radicalism into the context of solutions to the present social, economical and ecological crises while building and maintaining broad alliances.

The participants at the European Conference will be discussing how to move forward on this basis at a European level.

Budapest, 23 January, 2014.

                                                             The Conference Organising Committee