News
New national campaign - Give racism the finger
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
A new national campaign to erase racism in Australia, Give Racism The Finger, was launched on 16 May 2011.
The campaign was devised by All Together Now, a new not-for-profit organisation, after its founder discovered two recent studies. One that revealed 1 in 5 Australians had been a victim of racial abuse at some time in their life [1] and another that indicated that 1 in 7 Australians was a victim of racial abuse in 2010 [2].
The campaign, which is running in 83 The Body Shop stores nationally, will ask customers to ‘Give Racism The Finger’ by leaving their fingerprint on a canvas in store. By doing so, they will be making a commitment to speak up when they witness racism.
“Every person in Australia has a responsibility to prevent racism by speaking up when they witness racism,” said Priscilla Brice-Weller, Founder and Managing Director, All Together Now. “When you speak up, you feel better knowing that you’ve taken a stand, and the person on the receiving end will feel less disturbed by the abuse. It will also demonstrate to those participating in racist acts that their behaviour will not be tolerated.”
The Body Shop and Shift Communications – part of the STW Group – are major supporters of this campaign.
“The Body Shop has a long history of campaigning against racism, and are proud to partner with All Together Now on the issue,” said Mark Kindness, Chief Executive, The Body Shop Australia. “Australians have a collective responsibility to promote cultural diversity within our circles of influence, and stamp out racial discrimination.”
Monty Noble, Executive Creative Director of Shift Communications adds: “A fingerprint not only adds an individual’s signature to the campaign, it also serves to remind us that despite the diversities of our colour, religion, and backgrounds – we are all human.”
How to ‘Give Racism The Finger’ during the campaign 16 May-12 June, 2011:
- Visit any of The Body Shop stores in Australia and add your mark to the canvas; and
- ‘Like’ the campaign on Facebook www.facebook.com/alltognow and change your status to “giving racism the finger”.
[1] Challenging Racism: The Anti-Racism Research Project, University of Western Sydney.
[2] Mapping Social Cohesion 2010, The Scanlon Foundation, Melbourne.
