As part of Week Tegen Racisme 2025 at Pakhuis de Zwijger, Asian Raisins partnered up with Discriminatie.nl to organize a workshop on fighting anti-Asian racism. The workshop was paired with the launch of our ‘Anti-Aziatisch Racisme Toolkit’ for the East and Southeast Asian community, which provides information about different forms of anti-Asian racism, and features tips on bystander intervention for common racist scenarios. The program was also a celebration of Asian Raisins’ 5 year anniversary!
On March 20th 2025, Asian Raisins hosted a workshop segment as part of the Stilte maakt racisme program during Week Tegen Racisme 2025 (17th to 22nd March), a week-long program jointly organized by Pakhuis de Zwijger and Comité 21 Maart. The workshop was organized in collaboration with Discriminatie.nl, and featured Asian Raisins’ new toolkit on combatting racism against East and Southeast Asians in the Netherlands.
The toolkit provides information on important racism terminology, information on anti-racism and allyship, methods for how bystanders could intervene, along with tips and solutions for common racist scenarios often experienced by those in the East and Southeast Asian community in the Netherlands. The toolkit also includes a list of Asian (psychological) healthcare providers, and recommended reads and resources for understanding anti-Asian racism.
In celebration of Asian Raisins’ 5 year anniversary, the evening began with a festive celebration and cake for the attendees. To start off the program, Rosie from Asian Raisins gave a short presentation introducing Asian Raisins as an organization, along with Discriminatie.nl’s work in fighting racism as a point of contact for the community.
During the workshop, participants sat together to discuss their experiences of racism, along with possible solutions and responses to these scenarios. Participants were given worksheets featuring illustrations by Maaike from Asian Raisins, which included common interactions at work, at school, or on the street, with empty speech bubbles for participants to fill in. They were encouraged to think about their own experiences regarding racism, and brainstorm how they could have responded in this situation. Some participants shared their experiences and solutions with the rest of the group, which was met with empathy, commiseration, and shared understanding.
Through a short interview series during the event, some participants also shared what motivated them to join the event, and the importance of having a community. Many participants felt motivated to join the workshop due to their personal experiences with anti-Asian racism, while others expressed the need for interracial allyship in our common stride against racism. The interviews can be found here and here.
After participants shared their lived experiences of racism, the evening ended with further information about Discriminatie.nl and Asian Raisin’s reporting point (meldpunt), where participants were encouraged to report racist incidents they either experience or witness. Attendees were introduced to the different options for reporting racism, and were provided insight into the benefits of reporting discrimination.
To close off the night, attendees gathered at the ‘hoofdzaal’ where the closing performance was for the day’s program. With more cake and drinks, it was a beautiful end of the program, where people came together in a shared mission against racism.
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