‘Saying we want to stop racism is all well and good, but what are we going to do about it?’

The Anti-Racism Summit at City Hall heard that Cork ‘has a pride about itself’ and how it can take that pride to be a shining example to other towns and cities to combat racism in all its forms, writes Pádraig Hoare

The Anti-Racism Summit came together through collaboration and allyships with partners like Children and Young People Services Committee and the Traveller Visibility Group. It highlighted the creativity, talent, and voices of the young people who are part of these organisations. Pictures: Clare Keogh

The raised fists of the flash mob, simultaneously a picture of defiance, hope, and solidarity, said it all — a symbol of how Cork can be the galvanising city for the rest of the country when it comes to anti-racism.

Organisers of the first-ever Anti-Racism Summit to be held in Cork sensed positive change in the air, a contrast to the anti-immigrant and refugee movement in Ireland that threatens to foment from a far-right fringe into a mainstream movement if authorities do not get to grips with the burgeoning issue.