http://www.kifkif.be

[image:191,right] “Knowledge is power and thus our most important weapon against racism and hate”. This is main the statement of the Flemish web portal Kif Kif. And this peaceful weapon is indispensable, because in spite of the hundreds of television discussions and the increasing problemizing of for example Islam in northern Europe, the knowledge about other cultures is very scarce. KifKif.be organizes informative, opinion making, educational and leisurely initiatives to fill this lack of knowledge.

The open and interactive platform Kif Kif is mostly produced by Marrocan Belgians, who wanted a place on the web where it was possible to start sensible discussions about sensitive subjects like pro-hijab demonstrations and the prohibition of rightwing racist political party ‘Het Vlaams Blok’. Their mission was to promote diversity and an intercultural exchange between people and organizations with different backgrounds. Besides that, Kif Kif wanted to help emancipate both the ‘new Belgians’, immigrants mostly from African countries, as the autochthonous Belgian population. Because of the interactive, on-demand and informative qualities of the internet, it was the perfect medium to achieve the goals they set.

[image:192,left]Kif Kif’s keywords are progressive, pluralistic, left wing, anti-racist and democratic. The political statement was reinforced by the fact that European societies are changing but the governments are practically working in the way they did thirty years ago. By inventing a new approach to politics and social issues there can be some form of progress. The new forms that our societies take bring new forms of injustice and inequality. Kif Kif aims to help resolve those injustices in an innovative, creative and contemporary way.

One important contribution Kif Kif wants to make to left wing politics is to show the relevance of cultural identity that left wing parties have been neglecting. The left has always been seeing things from a socio-economic perspective and underestimated the role of cultural identity. Kif Kif is actively thinking of ways to fit cultural identity into the left worldview.

Although Kif Kif doesn’t limit itself to one ethnic or cultural group, the focus is obviously on the North African Islamic cultures. But the general idea is not only to bring migrants of migrants children in contact and discussion with the native Belgians, but also men with women, old people with young people, and other people who don’t seem to speak the same ‘language’ in conventional thinking. Taboos can disappear when one can speak freely while being in a safe place – relatively anonymous.

[image:193,right]The difficulty with making taboo subjects open to discussion is the delicacy with which to treat them. They’re easily brought into an atmosphere of anarchy or extremism. Kif Kif is very careful to not let this happen. Everyone can post messages and discuss freely, and some opinions are far from politically correct. But the discussion is hardly ever moderated, and never ceases to exist. There is room for every point of view. At least the participants in the discussions don’t withhold anything for the sake of political correctness. And the overall idea on the site is that of respect, without it being said anywhere.

Next to the articles, forums and video reports on subjects uncovered by the mainstream media, you can find an agenda of debates, workshops and other activities. The debates organized by Kif Kif have subjects like ‘Islam and the public sphere’, ‘Discrimination in the labour market’ and ‘Islam and representation’. Workshops and courses are being held in areas like filmmaking, literature and journalism. Also a book review section can be found on the site, supported by a ‘bazar’, a little bookshop on the site, where you can not only buy books and magazines but also offer them for small amounts of money. Information exchange taken one level further.

The organization continually engages people actively to participate in organizing activities and taking part in workshops and debates. It has almost 1200 registered members and some 9000 messages in the forum. The site is made and updated by volunteers only, and has no form of subsidy or structural funding. It survives by sporadic gifts.

By Elda Dorren / Engage! Tactical Media