Date: 9 December 2021
Time: 9:00 – 13:00 CET
The potential of equality bodies in tackling institutional racism
The disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on racial and ethnic minorities, and the revelations of police brutality against racialised communities around the globe following the murder of George Floyd, resulted in a powerful global outcry against racism. These developments once again exposed the nature and extent of structural discrimination that persists in Europe, and the historical, societal and institutional structures that generate and maintain inequality, disadvantage, and exclusion for racial and ethnic groups in society. As an important response, the EU adopted, in 2020, an Action Plan against Racism that includes a specific focus on structural racism.
Because of their mandates and their functions, equality bodies advance social change, and can address structural discrimination. They have a particular contribution to make to the institutional dimension, in assisting individuals who are victims of racist discrimination, in promoting models for institutional policies and practices that advance equality, in research that exposes and casts light on institutional racism, and in bringing forward an agenda for policy change to eliminate this phenomenon.
Equinet Conference
Bringing together equality body staff, representatives of European institutions, national authorities, and civil society organisations, this online conference aims to:
- Examine institutional racism as a concept and how it is relevant for the mandate and the work of equality bodies;
- Identify and demonstrate how equality bodies are and could further effectively tackle institutional racism;
- Identify the barriers facing equality bodies and other stakeholders to tackle institutional racism effectively and the solutions required to overcome these.
How to participate?
The conference will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel.