The European Commission has designated 2007 as 'European Year of Equal Opportunities for All' as part of a concerted effort to promote equality and non-discrimination in the EU.
The European Year is designed to give a focus to tackling discrimination, celebrating diversity and promoting equal opportunities for all.
The Year's Four Themes
Rights - raising awareness of the right to equality and non-discrimination
Representation - stimulating a debate on ways to incrase the participation of under-represented groups in society
Recognition - celebrating and accommodating diversity
Respect and tolerance - promoting a more cohesive society
What will be happening in Scotland to mark the year?
It is intended that events held under the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All will be decentralised as far as possible. This means that organisations are encouraged to host their own events and mark the year in their own way without the need to refer to government bodies, the European Union etc.
The Scottish Executive - in collaboration with the Commission for Equality and Human Rights - has a number of activities under consideration and an outline is provided below. Given the local authority and Scottish Parliament elections in May 2007, events will most likely occur in the post election period.
March 2007
A reception was hosted by the Minister for Communities on March 20 to launch the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All in Scotland. It was attended by representatives of a range of communities and interests and provided an opportunity to promote networking and the exchange of ideas.
Latter half of 2007
Working with CoSLA and others to encourage and promote local activities which celebrate and highlight the excellent work which is going on in communities across Scotland.
October 23, 2007
Conference hosted by Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Association for Mental Health will address issues such as stress and mental health, work based detection and prevention strategies, challenging discrimination and accommodating mental health in the workplace. You can find out more about this conference here.
Closing Conference
The Year will close with a high level conference to feed into the work of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights. It will highlight what has been learnt during Year and will provide some thinking around what next for Scotland on Equality.
Further information
You can find more information about the Year on the European Commission website and the Equality and Human Rights Commission website.
If you are planning an event in Scotland to celebrate the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, or want further information on events planned by the Executive, please contact the Gender & Mainstreaming Equality Team:
Scottish Executive, 2G(S) Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ
Email: gender.mainstreaming.equality@scotland.gsi.gov.uk