2007 European Year Of Equal Opportunities For All

The ‘Equality Summit’ in Berlin on 30 and 31 January will be the ‘kick off’ for the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, in which an ENAR delegation will participate. The 2007 Year of Equal Opportunities for All is a chance to make real the promise of Europe’s anti-discrimination protection. In recent years Europe has made substantial progress in developing anti-discrimination law, however law is worthless if the people who need it do not know about their rights. That is why initiatives such as the 2007 Year are crucial. This year provides all Europeans with 365 days in which they can take action in the fight against racism and discrimination. According to a recent Eurobarometer survey on ‘discrimination in the European Union’, Europeans identified racial discrimination as the most prevalent form of discrimination in Europe. Over two-thirds of Europeans believe that racial discrimination is widespread in their country. However the survey also found that there is little awareness of anti-discrimination law and rights: 39% of respondents did not know that racial discrimination in hiring new employees is against the law. Over half of Europeans think that not enough is being done to fight discrimination. Bashy Quraishy, Chair of the European Network against Racism (ENAR), stated that “as anti-racist NGOs we are very conscious of the potential value of such initiatives, particularly when it comes to raising awareness of rights and obligations under the law”. He emphasised that “while the themes of the Year – rights, representation, recognition, and respect – are important in focusing our energies and discussion, we must not forget the underlying challenge of combating prejudice”.

Pascale Charhon, Director of ENAR, took the opportunity of the kick-off event to remind participants that the challenge of equal opportunities and the fight against discrimination will never be realised without the active participation of NGOs. NGOs are a key source of support and advocacy for the victims of discrimination, as well as a source of information and a tool for generating change amongst the majority population. She stated that “ENAR hopes the Year will bring concrete outcomes and create momentum”, and called for “high level political commitments from all EU governments to respond to the challenge of disseminating knowledge about rights and obligations, and to undertake consistent, structured, and well funded awareness-raising activities at all levels of society, in line with commitments made in the Racial Equality Directive”.

On the occasion of the kick off event in Berlin, ENAR launched a special edition of its newsletter ENARgy, dedicated to one of the themes of the Year – Representation.