Just released, the Global Evaluation Report 2025, based on 36 city reports submitted in 2025, synthesizes the efforts, challenges, and achievements of members of the European Coalition of Cities against Racism (ECCAR) in combating racism through local action within ECCAR’s 10-Point Plan of Action.
Beyond the structured reporting chapters, the report for the first time includes detailed assessments of narrative data from 66 good practices reported in 2025. It examines how cities develop, implement, and evaluate anti-racism actions, and sheds light on how subnational policies are designed and carried out to prevent, eliminate, and sanction racism in Europe.
The report showcases city-led action against racism and calls out these essentials to scale impact: persistent political commitment, robust data, and inclusive stakeholder engagement.
- Hurdles: raising awareness of structural and institutional racism, overcoming internal resistance to change, and coordinating cross-departmental work. Strong communication and participation strategies are crucial.
- Engagement: difficulty reaching marginalized and racialized communities due to language barriers, limited digital access, and low institutional trust. Multi-channel outreach helps but is resource-intensive. Backlash, especially online amid polarization and extremist rhetoric, calls for fact-based messaging, recognition of achievements, clear scope limits, and active expectation management.
- Evidence: lack of systematic monitoring and data on reach, effectiveness, and community impact. As a result, evaluations often document activities and performance rather than outcomes and impacts.
Finalized in Graz in February 2026 by the European Training and Research Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (host of the UNESCO Cat II Centre), this report is a field-tested roadmap for city leaders, practitioners, and partners building inclusive, resilient and racism-aware communities. Explore the Global Evaluation Report 2025 and the 66 good practices to see what works and where capacity-building can have the greatest impact.
