Call on people in Mayo to wear red this Friday to help combat racism

The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) is calling on schools, businesses and community groups in Mayo to join their anti-racism initiative, Wear Red Day, this week.

As part of the event, which takes place on Friday (March 31), people are being encouraged to wear red and make a donation to the charity.

All the funds raised through Wear Red Day will be used by the Immigrant Council to continue their work on tackling racism in Ireland.

Commenting ahead of the event, Valeria Aquino, integration manager at the Immigrant Council, said: “Wear Red Day is an important opportunity for schools, businesses and community groups alike to send out a strong message that we as communities welcome diversity, celebrate it, and take a stand against racism in all forms.

“With racist incidents on the rise, it is vital that we provide people with the tools and knowledge they need to properly deal with racism. Wear Red Day is a great opportunity for schools and workplaces to start the conversation on racism and discrimination.

“As well as wearing red, we’re also encouraging people to run activities throughout the day – everything from five-a-side competitions to bake sales – all to help boost donations. We hope the people of Mayo get behind this initiative and show their support on Friday.”

The Immigrant Council is encouraging participants to share their Wear Red Day activities on social media using the hashtag #WRD23.

Wear Red Day is part of the Show Racism the Red Card anti-racism programme, which is operated in Ireland by the ICI. The programme provides educational resources, workshops, training and awareness-raising activities for primary and secondary schools, youth groups, workplaces and sporting stakeholders nationwide. Further information on Wear Red Day is available here.