Olomofe Olanrewaju Larry
Managing Director, Cosmodernity Consultants
Warsaw | Poland
Biography
Larry Olomofe is the former deputy head as well as advisor for combatting racism and xenophobia/training coordinator in OSCE ODIHR's Tolerance and non-discrimination department. He ran the portfolio on racism and xenophobia, providing advice to various governments on issues such as racism and anti-racism, non-discrimination, xenophobia, intolerance against Christians, hate incidents and hate crimes across the OSCE region. He also designed, managed, and coordinated ODIHR's Training Against Hate Crimes for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE) their flagship training/capacity-building programme for law enforcement in the OSCE region. Additionally, he oversaw trainings for prosecutors, judges, and civil society organisations on responding to and prevention of hate crimes and European and domestic anti-discrimination law, as well as ODIHR and OSCE field offices' staff, human rights commissions and ombuds institutions. During his professional career, Mr. Olomofe has conducted trainings, lectures and a variety of workshop/conference contributions in over forty (40) countries. Prior to his OSCE work, Larry Olomofe was employed as the Human Rights Trainer/Director at the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) in Budapest, Hungary, and was an associate professor offering courses on nationalism, critical race theory, social and political theories and philosophy, cultural studies and international human rights law and structures at a variety of Hungarian universities including the university of San Francisco (Budapest programme). On completion of his OSCE mandate in 2018, Mr. Olomofe co-founded People of African Descent LINK (PADLINK) a public interest non-governmental organization to promote the interests of people of African descent (PAD) across the diaspora. Its primary focus is to combat discrimination and xenophobia faced by people of African descent and to address the needs of people of African. PADLINK provides resources to PAD communities wherever necessary and possible offers its expertise in the fields of legal representation (including strategic litigation) human rights training and capacity-building programmes, advocacy and outreach initiatives, research, monitoring and reporting, human rights education and intercultural exchange programmes.
Organisation
Cosmodernity Consultants
Other
Cosmodernity consultants are a team of highly regarded and respected professionals in their specific areas of interest covering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, anti-discrimination trainings and workshops, advocacy and policy review and design, anti-racism traing, workplace sensitivity workshops, and effective leadership training for grassroots, youth activists and practitioners. The composition of the team provides us with a broad, global reach and an extensive network of experts to select from. The inherent diversity of the team's educational and professional backgrounds is a particular strength and added value of the company. Allied to their dedication and strong work ethic, Cosmodernity consultants can ensure quality driven services to all clients.
Speaker session
Break-out session 2:
Environmental racism and climate justice
Environmental racism is a form of systemic, structural racism whereby racialised communities are disproportionately burdened with health hazards through policies and practices that force them to live in proximity to sources of toxic waste such as sewage works, mines, landfills, power stations, major roads and emitters of airborne particulate matter. As a result, these communities suffer greater rates of health problems. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed these underlying inequalities and exclusion, and their potentially dire health consequences.
A recent report highlights the severe and systemic environmental racism which Roma communities across Europe face. Roma communities often live on polluted wastelands and lack running water or sanitation in their homes as a result of “environmental racism”, a report has concluded. At the same time, several other persons or communities who have sought refuge in EU countries because of climate change in their home countries in Africa or in the Middle East are now impacted by racism.
The aim of the break-out session is to examine, how the issue of environmental racism can be effectively addressed by means of the European Green Deal.
Moderator: Vera Winthagen, JRC 01, European Commission
Scene setting: Arnold Kreilhuber, Head of the International Environmental Law Unit in the Division of Environmental Law and Conventions of the United Nations Environment Programme
- Teresa Aristegui, DG ENER B1, European Commission
- Ufuk Kâhya, Member of the Committee of Regions, Alderman of Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands
- Gabriela Hrabanova, ERGO Network
- Archana Ramanujam, ENAR
- Linda Greta Zsiga, Romani activist
- Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, World Health Organisation Advocate for Health and Air and Quality and co-founder of the Ella Roberta Family Foundation
Ramanujam Archana
Researcher
United States
Biography
Organisation
Brown University
Academic
Speaker session
Break-out session 2:
Environmental racism and climate justice
Environmental racism is a form of systemic, structural racism whereby racialised communities are disproportionately burdened with health hazards through policies and practices that force them to live in proximity to sources of toxic waste such as sewage works, mines, landfills, power stations, major roads and emitters of airborne particulate matter. As a result, these communities suffer greater rates of health problems. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed these underlying inequalities and exclusion, and their potentially dire health consequences.
A recent report highlights the severe and systemic environmental racism which Roma communities across Europe face. Roma communities often live on polluted wastelands and lack running water or sanitation in their homes as a result of “environmental racism”, a report has concluded. At the same time, several other persons or communities who have sought refuge in EU countries because of climate change in their home countries in Africa or in the Middle East are now impacted by racism.
The aim of the break-out session is to examine, how the issue of environmental racism can be effectively addressed by means of the European Green Deal.
Moderator: Vera Winthagen, JRC 01, European Commission
Scene setting: Arnold Kreilhuber, Head of the International Environmental Law Unit in the Division of Environmental Law and Conventions of the United Nations Environment Programme
- Teresa Aristegui, DG ENER B1, European Commission
- Ufuk Kâhya, Member of the Committee of Regions, Alderman of Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands
- Gabriela Hrabanova, ERGO Network
- Archana Ramanujam, ENAR
- Linda Greta Zsiga, Romani activist
- Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, World Health Organisation Advocate for Health and Air and Quality and co-founder of the Ella Roberta Family Foundation
Sclafani Robin
CEJI- a Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe
Brussels | Belgium
Biography
Ms. Robin Sclafani is the Director of Brussels-based CEJI - A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe. CEJI is committed to fighting discrimination in all its forms, doing so principally through anti-bias education and training programmes, including the two-times award-winning Belieforama training on diversity of religion or belief. Robin has over 30 years' experience in developing and delivering anti-bias training programmes for various target groups.
With an MA in Conflict Resolution, Robin uses training and facilitation as methods for transforming social conflict into opportunities for social cohesion. Under Robin's leadership, CEJI coordinates a number of projects including Facing Facts, a broad European network of civil society organisations and law enforcement agencies that generates holistic, multi-stakeholder approaches to hate crime monitoring, response and prevention, and NOA, a project that brings together major European Jewish networks into a holistic approach to support policy development and implementation through an innovative national report card methodology and a wealth of socio-cultural educational resources.
Originally from New York City, with dual citizenship USA-Italy, Robin moved to Brussels in 1998 as a Fulbright Scholar to the European Commission to conduct a study on anti-racism work with youth in the EU.
Organisation
<p>An international non-profit organisation established in 1991, CEJI stands with individuals and organisations of all religions, cultures and backgrounds to promote a diverse and inclusive Europe. CEJI works to combat prejudice and discrimination and to promote social cohesion through training, education, dialogue and advocacy. </p><p>A leading provider of diversity education and training in Europe, CEJI works through ever-growing networks to offer a constructive response to prejudice and discrimination. A Jewish voice at a European level, CEJI facilitates Jewish participation in intersectional approaches to European affairs, gaining recognition for Jewish experiences and empowering Jewish organisations to become more internationally and interculturally active.</p><p>Contributing innovative ideas to policy-making processes dealing with anti-discrimination and social inclusion, CEJI actively advocates for policies promoting a diverse and inclusive Europe, including those dealing with antisemitism, racism, xenophobia, discrimination and diversity education at the institutions of the European Union, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and networks active in these areas. Find out more about CEJI here.</p>
Speaker session
Break-out session 2:
Environmental racism and climate justice
Environmental racism is a form of systemic, structural racism whereby racialised communities are disproportionately burdened with health hazards through policies and practices that force them to live in proximity to sources of toxic waste such as sewage works, mines, landfills, power stations, major roads and emitters of airborne particulate matter. As a result, these communities suffer greater rates of health problems. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed these underlying inequalities and exclusion, and their potentially dire health consequences.
A recent report highlights the severe and systemic environmental racism which Roma communities across Europe face. Roma communities often live on polluted wastelands and lack running water or sanitation in their homes as a result of “environmental racism”, a report has concluded. At the same time, several other persons or communities who have sought refuge in EU countries because of climate change in their home countries in Africa or in the Middle East are now impacted by racism.
The aim of the break-out session is to examine, how the issue of environmental racism can be effectively addressed by means of the European Green Deal.
Moderator: Vera Winthagen, JRC 01, European Commission
Scene setting: Arnold Kreilhuber, Head of the International Environmental Law Unit in the Division of Environmental Law and Conventions of the United Nations Environment Programme
- Teresa Aristegui, DG ENER B1, European Commission
- Ufuk Kâhya, Member of the Committee of Regions, Alderman of Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands
- Gabriela Hrabanova, ERGO Network
- Archana Ramanujam, ENAR
- Linda Greta Zsiga, Romani activist
- Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, World Health Organisation Advocate for Health and Air and Quality and co-founder of the Ella Roberta Family Foundation