Youth Forum member organisations: Anti-discrimination must remain high on the political agenda

On the 5th December, European Youth Forum Member organisations met in Brussels to take part in a capacity building seminar on multiple discrimination and intersectionality. Representatives from National Youth Councils and International Youth Non-Governmental Organisations from across Europe took part in training sessions and asserted that anti-discrimination must remain high on the European political agenda.

The seminar follows four years of work on a new EU Horizontal Directive that aims to tackle discrimination on all grounds. The new legislation is positive for young people and would provide improved protection in a number of areas, including age discrimination. Discussions are currently taking place between European governments around the adoption of this new Directive, which has the potential to positively impact the lives of millions of people.

During the capacity building seminar, participants were given an overview of existing anti-discrimination legislation at European level and their current status. Moreover, a specific session was dedicated to multiple discrimination concepts, definitions and case studies. Finally, the participants were involved in a tailored session on intersectionality issues and youth work including interactive sessions, identity workshops and planning exercises.

The European Youth Forum believes that the topic of discrimination must remain a priority on the European political agenda and that the European Council should adopt the horizontal directive as soon as possible. The Youth Forum will continue to develop our members’ internal capacities in this regard, and work towards tackling discrimination issues wherever they arise.

For more info, you can see the main findings of our Survey on "Youth and Multiple Discrimination in Europe" below.