Racism is alive and well in Luxembourg, a . For example, one in ten people in the survey said they don’t want to live next to people from a particular ethno-racial background. Just over 15% of respondents said that racist reactions are sometimes justified and 4.3% said they believe that some races are superior to others.

“Students should learn about the historical tradition of racism: the N-word, blackfacing etc. are neither harmless jokes nor funny but an expression of unreflective racism and should be recognised as such and made aware of,” the SEW said, releasing  around the history of racism in the US to mark the anniversary of the death of Georges Floyd on 25 May 2020.

In addition to providing teaching material, the group called on the ministry of education to adapt teaching plans to the multiculturalism of the student population of Luxembourg.

Teaching colonial past

The union said curricula should step away from a Eurocentric view of arts and culture, and instead incorporate the work of non-white authors and artists. It also said non-white persons should be considered when school buildings are named.

It said schools should implement zero-tolerance policies, with pupils also victims of racism and discrimination in and outside of school grounds.

published in May found that ethnicity and skin colour were the most recurring ground for discrimination but the government so far has avoided calls for a national action plan on combatting racism in the grand duchy.

Lastly, the SEW said the education system should address and acknowledge the country’s own colonial past. at the national history museum MNHA in Luxembourg City, which explores how Luxembourg participated in the colonial exploits of other countries, has caused some debate. Deputy prime minister François Bausch (déi Gréng) in with the Luxemburger Wort said the grand duchy does not have a colonial past.

Ministry open to discussion

“The ministry will happily pass along the demands of the SEW to the commissions and task forces [that put together the Luxembourg school programme, editor’s note] to look at them more closely, and to see where the themes can be studied in more depth,” a spokesperson for the education ministry told Delano.

Schools already teach children about human rights and their identity as citizens in a course than runs from the first year of primary school to the third year of secondary school, the spokesperson said.

Further projects and modules--such as history, languages and art--are also “present in the fight against xenophobia,” the spokesperson added.