The highest decision-making forum within Equinet is the Annual General Assembly of Equinet members. Every two years, the General Assembly elects an Executive Board responsible for the overall management and the strategic leadership of the Network.
Executive Board 2023-25
The Equinet Executive Board is the managerial body of the network. It is composed of nine representatives of Equinet members elected for a mandate of two years by the General Assembly of members and is presided by a Chair. It works to support the work of Equinet members and their positioning at European level and is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of Work Plans. It also works on the development of strategic visions aimed at ensuring the strength, growth and sustainability of the Network. To that end, it develops proposals for multi-annual Strategic Plans that are submitted in due course to the General Assembly of Equinet members for approval. It also supervises the work of the Equinet Secretariat.Patrick Charlier (Chair)
Unia - Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities, Belgium
Director
Director
Carla Tavares
CITE – Commission for Equality in Labour and Employment, Portugal
President
President
Lars Arrhenius
The Equality Ombudsman, Sweden
Equality Ombudsman
Equality Ombudsman
Sandra Konstatzky
Ombud for Equal Treatment, Austria
Director
Director
Christian Veske
Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner, Estonia
Commissioner
Commissioner
Rainer Hiltunen
Ombudsman for Equality, Finland
Ombudsman
Ombudsman
Kalliopi Lykovardi
Greek Ombudsman, Greece
Deputy Ombudsperson
Deputy Ombudsperson
Rhoda Garland
Commission for the Rights of Persons
with Disability, Malta
Commissioner
Commissioner
Miha Lobnik
Advocate of the Principle of Equality, Slovenia
Head of Institution
Head of Institution
All of the Executive Board members and the Treasurer execute their tasks pro bono.
The Executive Board operates on the basis of the workplan and budget agreed by the Equinet members and discusses and takes decisions on the management and operational structure for the period of their mandate.
Illustration of Equinet Governance
Text version of Equinet Governance:
The main decisions concerning the general steering of Equinet are taken by the General Assembly of Members (GA) that is made up of all the current members of the network, and is convened at least once a year for an Annual General Meeting (AGM). The GA:
- ratifies new members into the network
- elects representatives on the Executive Board every two years
- takes decisions on the strategic direction of the network by participating in the development, reviewing and voting on the annual Work Plan for the next year prepared and proposed by the Executive Board
- is entitled to amend the statutes of the organisation and to approve budgets and accounts.
During the course of the year, the GA delegates the management and the administration of the network to the Executive Board. The latter devises the strategy for implementing the work plan for the year, ensures that the means are in place to guarantee the effectiveness and sustainability of the network and acts in the best interest of the network and its members throughout the year.