In May 2025, Asian Raisins, in collaboration with Movisie and the Municipality of The Hague, organised two research meetings at the Central Library in The Hague. The sessions, held on May 10 and 24, brought together members of East, South, and Southeast Asian communities to develop concrete action plans to tackle anti-Asian racism effectively in The Hague.
Approximately 30 people from The Hague or with other connections to the city participated in both meetings. The group was deliberately composed with attention to gender, religious, and age diversity to gather a broad spectrum of experiences and perspectives.
On May 10, Rui Jun Luong opened the first session by explaining the program and its objectives. After an informal welcome with coffee and tea, participants were divided into smaller groups, each supervised by a table host. The supervisors ensured that everyone felt comfortable speaking freely about their personal experiences with racism in The Hague.
Conversations were initiated with the help of targeted questions. For this session, the illustrators of Asian Raisins designed a map of The Hague on which participants could mark racist incidents. This visual aid made the problem visible and helped identify patterns.
On May 24, the second session took place, focusing on translating experiences into solutions. Once again, participants broke into smaller groups to discuss creative and practical ideas for combating racism against East, South, and Southeast Asian communities. The discussions centered on three key areas: education, the labor market, and public spaces.
The results of this session will be incorporated into a research report that will be developed further by Movisie and used in municipal policy.
These meetings are an important step towards recognising and combating anti-Asian racism in the Netherlands. By actively involving the affected communities, we gain greater insight into the issue and garner support for change.
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