UP2US

The project consortium, made of 11 institutions and organizations, intends to develop target-group-specific methodologies for mapping the understanding of contemporary antisemitism and capacities to identify it in Novi Sad (Serbia), Timisoara (Romania), and Rijeka (Croatia). The aim is to estimate the capacities of key stakeholders to identify antisemitism, to identify strategies to increase awareness of the duty to act in cases of antisemitism, to identify the need for support to increase the capacity to respond to situations involving antisemitism and to analyze the connection between current Holocaust distortion and contemporary antisemitism. The mapping will be conducted among selected groups essential for establishing and shaping public attitudes, opinions, understanding, and awareness of antisemitism and/or developing and implementing measures to address it:

  1. Media professionals,
  2. Social media content creators and influencers,
  3. Cultural workers,
  4. Universities,
  5. Secondary schools,
  6. Police,
  7. The City’s authorities and
  8. The Jewish communities.

The primary outcomes of the project are:

  1. Evidence-based practical guidance for national and regional decision-makers on addressing antisemitism in line with the EU Strategy to Combat Antisemitism and Strengthen Jewish Life, presented in the publication “UP2US – Novi Sad – Rijeka – Timisoara: Practical Guidelines and Strategic Recommendations for Decision-Makers on Countering Antisemitism”, and
  2. A series of awareness-raising events and activities in Novi Sad, Belgrade, Timisoara, Zagreb and Rijeka entitled “UP2US – Confronting Contemporary Antisemitism,” including three international conferences, a series of public debates and podcasts with the live audience, an open-air exhibition based on research results and recommendations, a website and a social media campaign with evidence-based facts about contemporary antisemitism in the region and strategies to address it.

The need for the project stems from the recent findings of research by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (2024) and the Anti-Defamation League (2023), as well as others, which confirm the rise of antisemitism in Europe, but also from the fact that existing research on antisemitism often has a Western European focus and does not take into account or adapt to local specificities in South-Eastern Europe. The project aims to fill this gap and offer new tools to monitor antisemitism in Europe. The project concept was developed by Terraforming, while the project lead is The Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory from Belgrade. The project is supported by the Alfred Landecker Foundation through a prestigious Academic Research Grant. It will be implemented in Serbia, Croatia, and Romania from 2024 to 2026

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The short-term objective of the project is to provide an overview of the situation, assess the need, and propose further steps in preventing and combating antisemitism in a specific local, national, and regional context. This unique insight into regional challenges will contribute to a better understanding of the links between local, regional, and contemporary antisemitism at the European level. The long-term goal of the project is to raise awareness of antisemitism as a threat to democracy that affects us all. In this way, the UP2US project aims to initiate a dialogue on national strategies to combat antisemitism and support Jewish communities.