"When we talk about discrimination, we can't help but talk about personal actions and statements. A lot can happen between people, whether they meet for the first time or are friends for 20 years. We all have the opportunity to treat each other more respectfully and to discriminate less." This is how the Respect Guide begins, a guideline for respectful interaction with one another. With this publication, the organization i-Päd aims to provide suggestions and proposals which make it possible to avoid discrimination.
The guide is already in use in many places: "We use the Respect Guide to advise the German youth organization team, which is planning an international youth conference together with young people from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Malawi and South Africa," reports Nina Reichert from the German association bridge-it!
The guide has also been used in South Africa and Dambisa Dube, technical advisor at GIZ South Africa, sums up his experiences with it: "The Respect Guide is easy to read and has done a great job in simplifying very complex topics in a very relatable manner with simple use of language and many examples. Although it has a Eurocentric perspective, I highly recommend it, particularly to those who have engaged in intercultural contexts before and will be able to appreciate the value of another perspective."
However, Dambisa also points out that it would have been better if the guide included perspectives from the so-called Global South. "I imagine some of the topics addressed, like sexism and homophobia, would need to be addressed with much more sensitivity. Bearing this in mind, I would not recommend it for beginners engaging in topics such as these, particularly from the Global South." The Respect Guide can be downloaded free of charge from the website of the organization i-Päd - intersektionale Pädagogik.
Since August 2019, the guide is available in French – financed by Engagement Global with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
