Equinet: A Network for the Watchdogs of Equality

The series of Equinet’s ‘In Focus Briefs’ are short thematic papers, which will highlight the work of Equinet and its members, as well as EU developments on a given topic.

The first one gives an overview of the work of the Equinet Network over the past 10 years.

Equinet as a pan-European network was born out of the realisation that a platform enhancing cooperation between national equality bodies was needed and of significant added value. This platform had to have an internal focus of peer support and capacity building for its members, and an external focus of communicating the learning from the work of equality bodies to policy makers and stakeholders. Based on this realisation and thanks to EU funding support, Equinet, European Network of Equality Bodies, was established in 2007.

Read our first In Focus brief for a more detailed account of the history of Equinet, along with:

• An introduction to legal basis for equality bodies
• Equinet throughout the years (including key dates)
• Standards for equality bodies
• What Equinet provides for its members
• A summary of Equinet members, former chairs and the Secretariat.

In Focus Brief – Equinet