TURNING WORDS INTO ACTION TO ADDRESS ANTISEMITISM | Page 18

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The coalition should be inclusive but also draw lines and be clear which partners
should not be involved.
If there is governmental funding, NGOs should not become the “extended arms” of
political parties and go beyond political lines to avoid bias.
The coalition building process must involve key members from the beginning.
Communication with all partners should be on-going.
Coalitions should work on issues which go beyond the human rights framework such
as, for example, security issues, terrorism, media etc.
Coalitions should reach out to business partners.
Coalitions should also follow-up with state and other actors on the actual
implementation of policies they advocate for.

Group 4 discussed the necessary social competence of coalition members that helps
alleviate conflict and manage the relations throughout the process. This group presented the
following recommendations:
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Coalitions should allow for open communication and avoid secretive behaviour.
Coalitions should be clear and transparent about the goal of the coalition and about
the expectations within the coalition.
Coalitions should set clear criteria for professionalism to eliminate the risk of amateur
work.
Coalition members should be pragmatic and clearly set out what needs to be achieved
and what risks to take into consideration.
Coalition members should have the right to disagree. Disagreement should not be
understood to be tantamount to an end of a coalition. However, there should also be a
clear delineation of what lines cannot be crossed for the coalition to continue.
There should be a clear division of roles and responsibilities.
Each organisation involved should go through a due diligence check before joining
the coalition. Such check should also relate to values (for example, to avoid a
situation where an organisation supports combatting anti-Semitism but at the same
time discriminates against another minority).

SESSION 2: PRESENTING THE CONCEPT OF THE COALTION BUILDING
PILLAR OF THE PROJECT ON “TURNING WORDS INTO ACTION TO
ADDRESS ANTI-SEMITISM”
Dejan Petrović (Consultant, ODIHR’s Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department)
presented the overall concept of the 3-year ODIHR Project and, in particular, its coalition
building pillar. Dejan Petrović explained that the project will develop a flexible workshop
format that ODIHR can use to facilitate coalition building events at the national or local level,
as well as an accompanying guide on coalition building. In parallel, ODIHR will organize 34 specific expert workshops for activists from across the project region to promote dialogue
between different communities focusing on specific topics and contexts for coalition
building.
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