Forum Talk 2 – How to Counter Discrimination and Promote Equality and Diversity to Transcend Divides in a Society?
7 November 2024 - 11.15-13.00 / Palais de l'Europe / Room 10
Interpretation FR/EN
In co-operation with Council of Europe’s Anti-Discrimination Department
This session will explore the ways in which democracies can harness the power of diversity to address and mitigate issues of discrimination and exclusion. It will provide a space for discussing comprehensive strategies for the inclusion of marginalised and minority groups, best practices and policy reforms for a more inclusive democracy.
Moderator:
Erik Adell Hellström serves as the Chair of the Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity, and Inclusion for the Council of Europe. He is also the Deputy Director responsible for coordinating EU and international affairs at the Division for Human Rights and Discrimination Issues in the Swedish Ministry of Employment. Since 2012, he has worked in various ministries. During Sweden's Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2023, he coordinated efforts on fundamental rights and equal treatment, and chaired the Working Party on Fundamental Rights, Citizens’ Rights, and Free Movement of Persons. He has been appointed as an expert in several public inquiries and holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Stockholm.
Panel:
Anu Juvonen is the Executive Director of Demo Finland – Political Parties of Finland for Democracy, a multiparty democracy support organization involving all of Finland’s nine parliamentary parties. She has worked for over 20 years in the field of democracy support, development policy and international affairs, working and living in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Ethiopia among other countries. She is on the European Partnership for Democracy’s (EPD) Board of Directors and a member of the Human Rights Delegation of the Finnish National Human Rights Institute. She was seconded to the Council of Europe as a Policy Advisor (2021–2024) on democracy, specifically on civil society matters.
Željko Jovanović is president of the Roma Foundation for Europe. From 2010 to 2024, he was director of the Roma Initiatives Office of the Open Society Foundations. He is board chair of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) and also a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Institute. Before joining the Open Society Foundations in 2006, he worked for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Catholic Relief Services. Željko also led a grassroots Roma organization, a community radio station, civic and political campaigns, and mentored and trained managers, advocates, and leaders. Jovanović graduated with a degree in law from the University of Belgrade and a degree in governance from the University of Oxford.
Jürgen PIRKER, Pr, Member of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Austria
Jelle POSTMA, Director of “Justice for Prosperity”, the Netherlands
Discussant:
Youth Delegation
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