Inclusion and anti-discrimination programmes

The Council of Europe's Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Programmes Division carries out activities to ensure genuine equality and full access to rights and opportunities for all members of society.

The Division is composed of four Units, offering concrete and tested solutions to governmental and non-governmental partners in member States to strenghten inclusion and address discrimination and inequality that undermine the enjoyment of human rights and democracy by everyone:

Back Consultation on Entrepreneurship by Migrant Women takes place in Patras

Consultation on Entrepreneurship by Migrant Women takes place in Patras

Undoubtedly, the 241FE consultation event in Patras (Greece), entitled "Balancing Professional and Private Live as well as Entrepreneurship for Gender Equality” was a very successful initiative! It was organized onsite on 16th June 2022 by DAFNI KEK, the Greek partner of the “241FE: 241 Female Entrepreneurship”, EU project. The project targets refugee, asylum seeker and migrant women and aims at providing them with the capacity (material, tools, training and consulting) so that to develop their entrepreneurial skills, promote their creativity and empower themselves by using the 241FE business model and start/continue their own employment path.

The consultation event triggered the interest of policy makers, professionals, experts and practitioners, representatives of authorities, institutions, civil society (migrant communities included), consultants and mentors on equality, anti-discrimination and employment-entrepreneurship sectors.

More precisely, it was a distinctive part of the “Sustainable Employment and SME as a vehicle for equality, balance and wellbeing for all” conference, that was attended onsite by more than fifty (50) participants and addressed not only the multiple challenges but also the significant opportunities of the diversity advantage when doing business: with respect to balancing professional and private lives, applying equality to all people involved and avoiding discrimination of any type, targeting sustainability of business and wellbeing for all members of the society, treating migrant and refugees equally.

  • The DAFNI KEK is the Greek partner of the 241FE project (ERASMUS+ EU Program) and implements it in Patras in cooperation with local stakeholders and migrant communities, within the framework of the effective intercultural management at city level. In parallel, DAFNI shares bonds with stakeholders in Athens, so that the piloting of the 241FE entrepreneurship model by migrant and refugee women, is applied in two cities.
  • Stay tuned about the pilot phase of the 241FE model, where the sustainability of the entrepreneurship hub for migrant and refugee women to be created by DAFNI in Patras, will be tested (www.kekdafni.gr/en/).
Patras, Greece 16 June 2022
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 The four Units' activities are directly based on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the recommendations and findings of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (AC/FCNM), and the Committee of Experts of the European Charter of Regional or Minority Languages, as well as relevant Committee of Ministers Recommendations.

 

 The approach of the Division is to establish a direct link between standards, the monitoring processes, the intergovernmental work, such as the Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI) and the implementation of co-operation activities. This allows to identify weaknesses in the implementation of standards where technical cooperation activities can be helpful.

 

 The Division works closely with the existing networks of equality bodies and national human rights structures (ombudsmen and national human rights institutions); other Council of Europe monitoring bodies (such as European Committee of Social Rights, the Group of experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) and their secretariats; European networks of NGO’s and national civil society platforms; and international actors, such as the EU Commission and its Agencies (including the Fundamental Rights Agency), the UN agencies (such as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Development Programme) and the OSCE/ODIHR.

Division units
ICC

ICC

ICC

The Intercultural Cities Programme (ICC) supports local and regional authorities in reviewing their policies through an intercultural lens and developing comprehensive intercultural strategies to ensure real equality, meaningful intercultural interaction, and positive diversity management to realise the diversity advantage.

Anti-Discrimination Cooperation and Hate Speech, Hate Crime and Artificial Intelligence Units

Anti-Discrimination Cooperation and Hate Speech, Hate Crime and Artificial Intelligence Units

Anti-Discrimination Cooperation and Hate Speech, Hate Crime and Artificial Intelligence Units

The Anti-Discrimination Cooperation (ADCU) and Hate Speech, Hate Crime and Artificial Intelligence (HSCU) Units run extensive programmes of cooperation activities to help combat discrimination, hate speech and hate crime, as well as support the empowerment of minorities, the positive management of diversity and respect of human rights, including in the deployment of digital technologies, algorithmic and artificial intelligence systems.

SOGIESC

SOGIESC

SOGIESC

The Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression and Sex Caracteristics Unit (SOGIESC) offers tailor made activities aiming to combat discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, and sex characteristics, including technical support and expertise to member states to improve their legal and institutional framework, capacity building, sharing of good practices, and awareness raising.