The Anti-Racism Project: Building Awareness and Changing Practices is a Transformational Investment Capacity Project (TIC) project initiated in mid-2021 and aims to address structural racism in MSF by offering MSFers the tools to embark on an anti-racism journey, to increase knowledge and understanding of racism and be able to take concrete steps in building greater understanding, tolerance, awareness and achieve an organizational cross-sectional commitment to intersectional anti-racism, understanding that organizational change is intrinsically linked to personal transformation.

Methodology

We work with an embodied methodology based both in change management and in decolonial theory and intersectionality as described by legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw* where we incorporate the different elements required for a sustainable transformation at a personal and organizational level.

*A concept for understanding the way multiple forms of discrimination or oppression affect groups of people or individuals. And at the same time how proximity to power offers certain privileges. For example, the discrimination of women based on sex and gender is inextricably linked with oppression and marginalization based on other discriminatory systems such as those based on race, ethnicity, religion or belief, health, status, age, class, caste, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

For further information about intersectionality we recommend this short video:

Increase awareness and understanding

I understand

Foster safe/brave spaces

I reflect and navigate emotions

Engage different stakeholders and move towards actions

I put into practice

Anti-racism embedded into praxis ensuring sustainability

We embed anti-racism into our work

Phase 1

From 2021- 2022, the Anti-Racism Project implemented two learning and development pillars to provide an entry-point into anti-racism awareness, practices and actions for MSF staff:

  • Pillar I -The Conversational Cohort: eight monthly conversation spaces about racism and anti-racism, and the Conversation Navigation training to build capacity to have and host conversations about racism in MSF.


    This video captures the experiences from colleagues who took part in the Anti-Racism Cohort
  • Pillar II - The Accompaniment Sessions: six sessions to provide tailored advice and support to any staff member, group, or team that is working on anti-racism efforts.

Phase I had a cross-sectional impact by:

  • Centering the conversation about racism and anti-racism across the movement, collaborating with relevant initiatives and areas (i.e. Dismantling Structural Racism Project, the People Management Unit, DEI Leads)
  • Building and strengthening staff’s capacity to hold and facilitate these conversations from an informed and knowledge-based perspective
  • Increased knowledge-based understating of racism and anti-racism, as well as other key concepts such as whiteness, power and privilege
  • Fostering the advancement of anti-racism efforts in our workplace, supporting ideas and offering support from subject matter experts
  • Creating a positive snowball effect, in which, by sensitizing a diverse group of staff, they, in turn, promote this awareness in their respective workplaces moving these efforts forward

The evaluation of Phase 1 was carried out by the People Management Unit, if you'd like to know more find the summary evaluation here and the full report here.

You can find the Anti-Racism TIC key findings, commitments and considerations here.

Phase 2

For the second phase of the project, we took into consideration the lessons learned:

  • Need to reinforce intersectional approach and diversify anti-racism strategies
  • Further guidance on practical steps to address racism and advance anti-racism work
  • Increase engagement from decision-makers/top leadership
  • Spend more time creating safe-brave conversation spaces

Recommendations:

  • Improve design of future learning events considering the diversity of staff and their needs
  • Create entry-points for participants at different stages of their anti-racism learning journey
  • Identify and address the consistent barriers to holding and having conversations about racism
  • Sustain long-term growth

And came up with three key objectives:

  • Scale knowledge and understanding of racism, anti-racism and key related concepts
  • Improve cross-entity collaboration and involvement of leadership
  • Increase capacity to host safe/brave conversation spaces in our different regions

So far the project has been able to:

  • Train 270+ people
  • Deliver 17+ customized workshops
  • Collaborate with 6+cross-entity initiatives
  • Work with 9 co-sponsoring entities
  • Develop key learning resources