Ministerial foreword
Scotland is a country where no one should be denied opportunities because of their race or ethnicity, their disability, their gender or sexual orientation, their age or religion. That is why Working and Learning Together to Build Stronger Communities, the Scottish Executive's guidance for Community Learning and Development, places equalities right at its very heart.
Community Learning and Development (CLD) has traditionally played a vital role in supporting communities in need or going through a transition. Part of its very fabric is a commitment to social justice. There is no doubt about how empowering access to opportunities for learning can be - often as a first step to moving out of poverty. CLD can also build on the undoubted skills and talents within communities, giving people confidence to run and manage their own organisations and get their voices heard.
This is a strong record but there can be no question of any complacency. It is therefore vital that CLD - along with many other public services - constantly questions whether it is doing enough to ensure that it makes these benefits available to all our citizens.
We have already seen an increasing focus on actively promoting equalities in CLD. The new CLD self evaluation framework, How Good is Our CLD?, developed by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education, reinforces this need to embed equalities issues into all CLD activities.
This equalities resource aims to support professionals and organisations to develop the skills and confidence they need to deliver quality CLD opportunities for everyone. This will be achieved by building on existing skills and knowledge. It complements other sources of support already available but is unique in bringing together for the first time a resource designed specifically for CLD practitioners to work effectively with all equalities groups.
I am committed to building on the excellent CLD opportunities already available across Scotland and want to ensure that all groups and communities in Scottish society have access to these. The Scottish Executive has a real commitment to equalities in this field of work and a leadership role in making it happen.