June is always a busy month in the Equinet calendar, as well as a very decisive one on many levels. We are currently in the final year of our strategic plan, and are working to develop a new strategy that will guide the work of the Equinet Network from 2023 to 2026. To be more concrete and operational, the strategic plan is divided up into yearly work plans, which we develop based on the needs of our members, all the while taking into account legal and policy developments on equality and non-discrimination.
Executive board: strategic engagement
As part o
f this strategic planning process, the Executive Board met on 15 June for their second quarterly meeting of the year. The main discussions on this occasion focused on the most effective way for Equinet to continue engaging with the process of standards for equality bodies once the legislative proposals have been presented at the end of September, to ensure a comprehensive strategy working toward actual adoption. The 2023 work plan and 2023-2026 work plan were also discussed at length, ensuring that Equinet is able to strategically engage in the most important aspects of the equality agenda over the years to come. During this meeting, the Board had the opportunity to speak with a representative of the Swedish Presidency team, in order to discuss the possible equality highlights.
CSO consultation: building bridges
On 14 June, we hosted our annual civil society work plan consultation meeting, to exchange on opportunities and synergies over the next year. Some of the highlights that were reiterated by all partners were:
- A shared concern for the shrinking space of civil society, as well as a need to amplify collective voices and identify collective mechanisms to address this.
Widespread support for comprehensive legislation to ensure standards for strong and effective equality bodies. Strong, independent, well-resourced and accessible equality bodies act as key enablers of civil society, and important allies implementing protection of equality and non-discrimination on the ground.- The importance of championing the intersectional approach to tackle inequalities in a comprehensive manner.
- Preparatory work to be progressed ahead of the next EU Parliamentary Elections, keeping in mind the importance of a renewal of the Commissioner for Equality in the next College of Commissioners.
It was a rich and welcome exchange on all sides, and we would like to thank all our partners for their active preparation, participation and engagement.
Last but not least, Chair Laurence Bond and Co-Directors Anne Gaspard and Tamas Kadar, had meetings with MEPs Alice Bah Kuhnke and Robert Biedroń, to discuss, amongst other issues, the upcoming legislation on standards for equality bodies, and how Equinet could engage with the European Parliament in the most useful way.