Some Still More Equal than Others? Or Equal Opportunities for All?

The youth research seminar focused on equality and non-discrimination in line with the focus of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All designated by the European Commission and of All Different - All Equal, the youth campaign of the Council of Europe. In the Council of Europe, the main basis for work focused on equality and non-discrimination is the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the European Social Charter (1961; revised in 1996), which guarantees social and economic human rights. The Racial Equality Directive and the Employment Framework Directive define principles that offer everyone in the EU a common minimum level of legal protection against discrimination. In 2004, the European Commission adopted the strategy to promote non-discrimination and equal opportunities for all in the EU, set out in the Green Paper on “Equality and Non-discrimination in an Enlarged EU”. Following the consultation process linked to the Green Paper, a framework strategy aiming at the achievement of non-discrimination and equal opportunities for all was laid out by the Commission in 2005. In the eyes of a significant majority of Europeans, violations of the above mentioned rights and principles are widespread, despite the efforts of institutions and organisations. The research seminar was intended as a means to explore existing realities of inequality and discrimination, as well as policies, strategies and mechanisms that enhance equal opportunities for all.