An appeal from president Herbert Hainer, a multifaceted keynote speech and the opportunity to exchange ideas with the deaf fan club ‘Red Deaf’: for FC Bayern, its club-wide initiative ‘Red against Racism’ is more than just a slogan on a shirt. Among other things, the German record champions regularly invite their employees to meetings to discuss the topic of diversity and their commitment to the club's values in greater depth. This year's theme is ‘Encounters’, bringing together people from a wide range of backgrounds for discussions and activities.
"Our 'Red against Racism' initiative is also so special because it has emerged from within FC Bayern, from the employees and not as a result of instructions from above, from the executive board or presidential board,’ said Hainer at the second internal after-work event ‘Verein(t) für Vielfalt’ ('United for diversity') in his speech to over 150 employees, including executive vice chairman Michael Diederich and other invited guests. "Just like our players, our employees convey our attitude," continued the president. "You can all be proud of what has grown here: keep up the good work!"
After an update on the Red Against Racism activities of the past year from the initiative leaders Benny Folkmann and Andreas Werner, the event centred on a keynote speech by Simon Usifo, the editor of the book "People of Deutschland". The ‘Red Deaf’ fan club then broke down the signs for the players, which have been displayed on the team line-ups in the Allianz Arena and on the website since the start of the season. There was also another opportunity for employees to have their photo taken in the ‘Red against Racism’ look, similar to the portraits of the players on the autograph cards. Also on display for everyone were motif cards with the initiative's abridged guidelines on how to behave if someone is being discriminated against.
You can say racist things without being racist, Usifo explained to those present in his talk, in which he carefully sensitised them to the topic of everyday racism using vivid examples. In his book, the Bonn-born son of a Nigerian father and a French mother writes: "The idea that racism only exists when I experience it myself is a fallacy. It is the task of the majority to combat the grievances that arise from discrimination against minorities, instead of leaving it up to those affected themselves. I firmly believe that we are strong enough as a society to focus on the consensus of unity and equality rather than letting ourselves be led by that which seeks to divide us." Bechtold from the ‘Red Deaf’ fan club emphasised in her presentation how important it is to FCB fans with hearing impairments that the club has given them the opportunity to develop signs for the players: "This makes us a little more visible and integrated. We are proud to be part of the FC Bayern family."
In addition to Usifo, the club hosted Martina Rink and André Lumengo, two more of the 45 people who have written about their experiences and views on diversity in the book "People of Deutschland". Other guests included Till Hofmann and Barbara Bergau from ‘Bellevue di Monaco’, Rüdiger Heid and his street football initiative ‘buntkicktgut’, Guy Fränkel from the Jewish community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, representatives of ‘QUEERPASS Bayern’, FCB fan disability officer Kim Krämer together with members of ‘Red Deaf’ and teachers, The event was followed by a get-together with FC Bayern employees, where the motto ‘Encounters’ was brought to life.
The next 'Red against Racism' activities are on 8 June at the Munich city birthday celebrations on Odeonsplatz, at the 'Stadium of Dreams' (10 and 11 June), during EURO 2024 with a stand at the Fanzone on the Olympic site on 14 and 15 June, and at Christopher Street Day on 22 June.
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