The “Guidance document on inclusion strategies” prepared by the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Intercultural Inclusion (ADI-INT) was adopted by the Steering Committee on Anti-discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI) on 2 July 2025 during its 11th plenary meeting.
The ADI-INT is a unique intergovernmental committee thanks to its multilevel composition, comprising representatives of ten Council of Europe member states, eight local authorities, which are members of the Intercultural Cities Programme, and two regional authorities.
The new guidance document aims to help Council of Europe member states in designing effective inclusion strategies at all levels of governance.
The document indicates that inclusion should be seen as a holistic, all-encompassing approach rooted in human rights and non-discrimination principles. Effective inclusion policies must integrate both universal and group-specific measures. Mainstreaming equality in all policies, embracing diversity as a value and a resource, addressing intersectional discrimination, creating opportunities for interaction and participation in public life, and involving all levels of government (national, regional and local) are essential approaches in designing inclusion policies.
Inclusion strategies are crucial for building more cohesive, just, innovative and resilient societies, a shared sense of belonging and contributing to society. They help eliminate discrimination, reduce disparities, and foster mutual understanding and respect, ultimately benefiting society as a whole.
Comprehensive inclusion strategies should cover the entire spectrum of societal groups, including ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious minorities, migrants, Roma and Travellers, LGBTI persons. The guidance document presents standards for group-specific inclusion policies and identifies for each policy area crosscutting measures that comprehensively address the needs of a wide range of groups.
The main policy areas that would be covered by comprehensive inclusion strategies include education; employment; social welfare and housing; healthcare; culture; as well as policy fields such as combatting discrimination, hate crime and hate speech.
The ADI-INT will continue work on this topic by developing a concept and methodology for a new peer learning and benchmarking tool for inclusion strategies before the end of 2027.
