Employment social affairs

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, Free Movement of Good IdeasWorking against discriminationand inequality in Europe

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E Q U A L , F re e M o v e m e n t o f G o o d I d e a s

W o r k i n g a g a i n s t d i s c r i m i n a t i o n a n d i n e q u a l i t y i n E u r o p e

Employment and European Social Fund

European CommissionDirectorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

Unit B4

Manuscript completed in November 2004

Employment social affairs

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Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2004

ISBN 92-894-7001-1

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CONTENTS

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THE STRUGGLE AGAINST DISCRIMINATION AND INEQUALITY

More and better jobs for all

A labour market open to all

What is the EQUAL Initiative?

Partnership and empowerment: involving and empowering all relevant stakeholders

Transnational cooperation: learning from experiences in other Member States

Gender mainstreaming: making gender equality an integral part of all policies and practices

Thematic focus: sharing experience on priority issues

Innovation: developing and testing new approaches

Mainstreaming: transferring the lessons learnt into policy and practice

HARVESTING THE RESULTS OF EQUAL ACTIVITIES

Disability

Age management

Business start-up by unemployed or inactive persons

Helping employers promote diversity

Giving inclusive access to learning

Gender segregation in sectors and occupations

Sharing of care and household responsibilities

Corporate Social Responsibility

Reintegration of former prisoners to combat exclusion

Social economy to create more jobs and enhance their quality

Asylum seekers

TO GET IN TOUCH

Financial allocation 2000-2006 per Member State (New Member States only 2004-2006)

(in million €)

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THE STRUGGLE AGAINST DISCRIMINATION AND INEQUALITY

Overcoming discrimination in the workplace and inaccessing employment is a key element of theEuropean Union’s strategy to create more and betterjobs. By promoting a more inclusive labour market,the European Union (EU) can increase participation inemployment and learning, and maximise thecontribution of every individual to the economy andsociety as a whole.

Innovative and adaptable policy solutions are neededto bring greater inclusiveness to Europe’s diverselabour markets, and the European Commission’sEQUAL Initiative is helping to provide some of thetools and methods required.The Initiative, launched in2000, is designed to investigate and test different waysof tackling discrimination in employment and the jobmarket and to share examples of the resulting goodpractice across borders, with the intention ofinfluencing policy and general practice throughoutEurope.

By building partnerships, EQUAL empowers all thoseinvolved to promote innovation, share expertise andspread new solutions. In its second round running upto 2008, this unique initiative will continue to generatenew ideas and solutions in the field of equality andpractical ways to apply them in the workplace and inaccessing work.

MORE AND BETTER JOBS FOR ALLAt the Lisbon European Summit in March 2000, theEuropean Union set itself the goal of becoming themost competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economyin the world, capable of sustainable economic growth withmore and better jobs and greater social cohesion by 2010.By achieving such a target, the Union will create theconditions necessary for full employment and greatersocial cohesion.

Attainment of this goal is supported by the EuropeanSocial Inclusion Process and the EuropeanEmployment Strategy, among other initiatives. Theyare designed to give direction to the employmentpolicy priorities of EU Member States and ensuretheir convergence. Many of the activities covered bythese strategies are financed by the European SocialFund.

Today, the gap between the goals set out at Lisbonand Stockholm, and Europe’s current employmentsituation remains significant. Joblessness has increasedwith the economic slowdown, reaching high levels ina number of EU countries. Boosting employment hastherefore become a political, social and economicnecessity. In practice this means increasing theadaptability of workers and enterprises, attractingmore people to the labour market, increasinginvestment in human capital, and generating,exchanging and using good practice.

The Lisbon (2000) and Stockholm (2001)Employment goals

• To become the most competitive and dynamicknowledge-based economy in the world, capable ofsustainable economic growth with more and betterjobs and greater social cohesion;

• To reach an employment rate of 70% and toincrease the quota of women in employment tomore than 60% and of older workers to more than50%, by 2010.

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A LABOUR MARKET OPEN TO ALL

Discrimination in employment can marginaliseindividuals and reduce their productivity and overallcontribution to society. Most often, a person is saidto be discriminated against at work if they aretreated less favourably than someone else on thegrounds of such commonly defined prejudices assex, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability,age, or sexual orientation. Discriminatory practicesor behaviour can take both ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’guises, while other forms include personalharassment, abuse or victimisation.

These sorts of discrimination and inequality conflictwith the European social model. However, since theintroduction of Article 13 in the Treaty of Amsterdamin 1997, the European Union has been able to takeappropriate action to combat them. Several laws havebeen adopted, such as the ‘Race Equality’ Directive(Council Directive 2000/43/EC) and the ‘EmploymentEquality’ Directive (Council Directive 2000/78/EC).These laws recognise that it is an individual’s basichuman right to apply for work, and to go about theirwork, unhindered by prejudice.

The EQUAL Initiative seeks to explore and testeffective ways to fight all forms of discriminationpresent in the labour market. Multiple acts ofdiscrimination, such as inequality at work anddiscriminatory access to the workplace, oftenreinforce each other, so that new sources ofdiscrimination and inequality are constantly emerging(e.g. the digital divide). With the accession of the newMember States to the EU in 2004, both the inte-

gration of the Union’s ethnic minorities and the needto develop and share good practice in combatingdiscrimination at work and access to work havebecome even more important.

An example of discrimination is paying one personless than another, on the grounds of prejudice (sex,race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability,age, sexual orientation), even though both hold acomparable job and have similar skills and expe-rience.

The fact that discrimination can be hard to detect andthat much of it goes unreported makes it difficult tofully assess the scale of the problem. However, in asurvey conducted in June 2003, the EuropeanCommission’s Statistical Office (Eurostat), askedEuropean citizens to relate if they had experienced orwitnessed discriminatory practices in employment,education or access to goods and services.Most peoplesurveyed said they thought that ethnic origin, religion,

disability, sexual orientation, or age were the mainobstacles to finding employment.The majority felt thatthe bias against ethnic minorities in the workplace wasthe most widespread form of discrimination. Thesurvey results also pointed out four main areas whererespondents considered discrimination is most likely tobe practised: employment, housing, education andpersonal services.

EQUAL is a Community Initiative, which serves as alaboratory for inclusive ways of delivering Europeanlabour market policies and actions. In this way, itmakes an important contribution to ongoing labourmarket reform. It supports both the translation of theEuropean Employment Strategy into National ActionPlans for Employment and for Social Inclusion, and theimplementation of gender equality legislation acrossthe EU.

Jointly financed by the European Social Fund andnational governments, it provides an experimentalplatform for all stakeholders in employment policiesto explore, develop, test and share good practice.With respect to tackling discrimination inemployment and training, it aims to identify whatworks and what does not work, and why.

EQUAL differs from other European Social Fundprogrammes in its innovative dimension and itsemphasis on active cooperation between MemberStates and stakeholders.

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The European Union co-finances EQUAL with nationalgovernments in all EU Member States. Responsibilityfor the implementation of the programmes in theMember States lies with the national authorities (inmost cases Ministries of Employment).

The EU contribution to EQUAL stands at approximatelyEUR 3.2 billion, and is complemented by public nation-al co-funding of over EUR 2.2 billion.

The two calls for proposals for EQUAL DevelopmentPartnerships were organised in the Member States in2001 and in 2004.

All 25 Member States are participating in the secondround of EQUAL (2004-2008). There are a total of 27 pro-grammes, since Belgium and the UK have two pro-grammes each.

About 3,000 EQUAL Development Partnerships work onthe ground: about half of these in the first round (2001-2004) and the other half in the second (2004-2008).

Detailed tables presenting a breakdown of DevelopmentPartnerships by Member State and thematic field areavailable at: https://equal.cec.eu.int/equal/jsp/index.jsp

EQUAL facts and figures

WHAT IS THE EQUAL INITIATIVE?

• Tackling complex problems by involving all relevantstakeholders and empowering them to combatdiscrimination and exclusion at work and in access towork;

• Learning from experiences in other Member States;• Making gender equality an integral part of all policies and

practices;• Focusing on priority issues where groups of Member

States expect that transnational cooperation will helpthem develop ways to improve the delivery of theirnational labour market policies;

• Developing and testing new approaches;• Sharing good practice and influencing policies and

practices.

To achieve its goal of a non-discriminating and sustainable labour market, EQUAL is structured around six keyprinciples, or ‘building blocks’:

á Partnership and empowerment

á Transnational cooperationá Gender mainstreaming

á Thematic focus

á Innovationá Mainstreaming

PARTNERSHIP AND EMPOWERMENT: INVOLVING AND EMPOWERING ALL RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS

EQUAL supports Development Partnershipsinvolving key stakeholders such as local and regionalauthorities, public employment services, non-governmental organisations, the business sector(particularly SMEs) and social partners.

By working with such a wide variety of partners,EQUAL ensures that its actions have greaterrelevance, effectiveness and efficiency in addressingdiscrimination and inequality in the labour market.Stakeholders and disadvantaged people are involvedfrom the beginning in the needs analysis and in thedesign and implementation of all activities. Theinvolvement of the private and public sectors andnon-governmental organisations creates a forum fordialogue and for building consensus.Partnerships bring about a critical mass that can

impact on policy makers’ decisions and therebyfacilitate lasting structural changes. They also reduceduplication of efforts and bring results that could notbe achieved by one actor operating alone.Furthermore, by involving a diversity of actors, theyalso bring in fresh ideas that challenge establishedviewpoints and can tackle problems that are multi-dimensional (involving a variety of perspectives) andmulti-level (involving local, regional, national and evenEuropean issues).

Inclusive/holistic: This requires recognising the multi-level and multi-dimensional nature of issues, and thecommitment and participation of all partners, inclu-ding employers and, in particular, to consult andinvolve in the work of the partnership people who aredisadvantaged in the labour market.

Transparent: This can be achieved if the partnershiphas clear goals and transparent structures and processesthat encourage the participation of partners, peoplewho are disadvantaged in the labour market andwider stakeholders.

Sharing: The promotion of a partnership “learning cul-ture” is key to improving efficiency and effectiveness.Partners will be able to learn from one another by

allowing new ideas to come forward through openexchanges of experience. This enables successful modelsto be replicated and/or adapted. Such learning needsto be frank and open so that failures as well as successes can be discussed. By sharing proactively,partners are also made aware of possible obstacles topartnership-building and how these might be overcome.

Patient: The objectives of the partnership are ambitious,the challenges complex, and the solutions associatedwith risks. A further facilitating success is thereforeallocating time to discussion, review and relationship-building with partners and stakeholders. This helpsfoster mutual respect and understanding – the pre-conditions for trust.

Partnerships under EQUAL have been successful if they are:

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TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION:LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCES IN OTHERMEMBER STATES

Creating a more inclusive labour market acrossEurope is an ambitious and challenging task.Transnational cooperation can play a key role insecuring the right learning environment.

EQUAL has been structured to foster and promoteeffective transnational cooperation and to encouragethe transfer of know-how and good practice betweenpartnerships and between Member States. Thissharing and exchange of results provides real benefitsfor policy development at all levels.

Transnational cooperation occurs at three levels:• between Development Partnerships • between national thematic networks of

Development Partnerships • between the responsible EQUAL Managing

Authorities and key people and organisations acrossthe EU.

EQUAL’s experience has shown that transnationalcooperation is not easy, but it can often be the mosteffective way of achieving results unattainable undernormal circumstances. This is because transnationalcooperation provides a tool for the kind of lateralthinking required to achieve innovation.

The transnational dimension in EQUAL is not simply“an add-on” for a few actors, but an integral part of allthe partners’ work.A key factor in EQUAL’s successhas been the fact that every partner takes part in thecore ideas of experimenting and sharing in theprogramme.

EQUAL requires at least two Development Partner-ships from two different Member States to agree ona common workplan to develop or jointly test newapproaches, services or products. By September 2004,487 Transnational Cooperation Agreements hadbeen established involving more than 1,350 Develop-ment Partnerships.

The budgets allocated by the Development Partner-ships to transnational cooperation vary widely withan average of EUR 347,000 per Transnational Partnership.

For more detailed information, please consult theEQUAL common database: https://equal.cec.eu.int/ equal/jsp/index.jsp

Facts and figures on transnational cooperation under EQUAL

Four EQUAL Development Partnerships (from Austria,Italy, Hungary, and Portugal) are jointly carrying outtheir activities under a Transnational CooperationAgreement. The Portuguese partnership is endeavour-ing to implement 19 equality plans in companies andorganisations throughout the country; in Italy, thepartnership is working on life-long learning; and inHungary, it is aiming to increase the employability ofthe Roma community. Transnational exchange hasgenerated a learning process that is helping all part-ners both to take more account of the needs of ethnicminorities and to integrate a gender dimension intotheir activities. Building on the Portuguese experience,for example, the Hungarian partners are producing aguide to help enterprises introduce equality plans cov-ering both gender and ethnicity.

Example of transnational cooperationbetween Development Partnerships:

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GENDER MAINSTREAMING: MAKINGGENDER EQUALITY AN INTEGRAL PART OFALL POLICIES AND PRACTICES

The equal participation of women and men in allaspects of society reflects its level of political maturity,and is crucial for lasting growth and democracy. Thisambitious goal is, however, still far from beingachieved, despite substantial progress spearheaded bythe EU over the past 40 years.

The failure to transform the position of women, andby extension men, has led policy makers and those inthe equality field to question the impact of equalopportunity policies.There has been a realisation thatsociety’s structures and practices and the relationshipbetween women and men needed a radical rethink toroot out the deep-seated and often hidden causes ofinequality. This tool became known as the gendermainstreaming approach.

Gender mainstreaming recognises that specificinitiatives are insufficient to bring major change ontheir own. It focuses instead on the social differencesbetween women and men, accepting that differenceswhich are learned can change over time and varywithin and between cultures. It also makes genderequality an integral part of all policies and practices.

THEMATIC FOCUS: SHARING EXPERIENCE ON PRIORITY ISSUES

EU countries prioritised nine thematic fields in whichto share experience and learn from each other (seebox).

For each theme, the Commission, in partnershipwith the Member States, has established a platformto facilitate the sharing of experience. Similarlythere are policy fora where developers of goodpractice and policy makers/multipliers can meet.These platforms enable stakeholders to shareawareness and commitment to tackling relevantissues, to articulate policy needs, and to discussinnovative solutions and the conditions for theirimplementation on a larger scale.

INNOVATION: DEVELOPING ANDTESTING NEW APPROACHES

EQUAL is a laboratory where relevant stakeholderscommit themselves to develop, test and validate newstrategic approaches to employment and anti-discrimination in partnership.

It is testing and piloting new ways of deliveringinclusive policies and actions for employment andtraining. Such new methods might include thetransfer of a certain model to a different regional ornational context, a new combination of existingpractices, or significantly changed ways and means ofdoing things. Furthermore, innovation does not just

• Access and return to the labour market

• Combating racism

• Business creation

• Social economy

• Life long learning

• Adaptation to change

• Reconciling family and working life

• Reducing gender gaps

• Integration of asylum seekers

The nine thematic fields in EQUAL

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apply to content or approach. The way the Deve-lopment Partnerships are formed and work togethermay also be an innovation.

Innovation is not an objective in itself: it is a powerfulmeans of policy development, testing on a small scalewhat works, what barriers need to be overcome, andwhat roles the public sector and non-governmentalstakeholders are willing and able to play.

By involving all stakeholders, EQUAL can addresscross-cutting policy issues, work across and beyondinstitutional boundaries, and contribute to an effectivetransfer and adoption of the results.

MAINSTREAMING: TRANSFERRING THE LESSONS LEARNT INTO POLICY ANDPRACTICE

At the heart of EQUAL lies the principle of integratingand incorporating newly developed ideas andapproaches into policy and practice. But innovativeresults do not automatically find their way to decisionmakers - sometimes new approaches will be met withresistance. EQUAL therefore provides structures andtools for transferring good practices to policy makersand key stakeholders, both at national and Europeanlevel. All Member States have established activemechanisms to test and validate effective, efficient andinclusive solutions in the implementation of labourmarket policies .These processes include assessing therelevance of the results and the advantages they offercompared to established policies and actions,

validating the lessons learnt, and clarifying theconditions under which they were achieved.

EQUAL contributes to effective policy making byfinding out on the ground what works and what doesnot, and ensuring that all key stakeholders can learnthe lessons. The results are summarised and madepublic, and are used to enrich the policy peer reviewsset up in the European Employment Strategy, theSocial Inclusion Process, evaluation activities atEuropean Union level, and the dissemination andexchange activities of the Community Programmesunder Articles 13 (combating discrimination) and 137(promoting social inclusion) of the EU Treaty.

In order to organise these processes effectively,Member States and the European Commission haveestablished networks of public authorities,Development Partnerships and stakeholders, atnational and EU levels, to discuss and evaluate themost promising practices and outcomes of theirwork.

Employability • The involvement of employers

• The role of the trade unions

• People with disabilities

• Strategies for networking

• Ethnic minorities and

migrants

Entrepreneurship• Business creation

• Social economy

Thematic working groups at EU level in 2004

Adaptability • Lifelong learning

• Age management

Equal Opportunities • Family support and care

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• Horizontal and vertical

desegregation

• Gender mainstreaming

• Territorial approach

Asylum seekers • Education, training and advice

• Employment

• Capacity building

• Skills audit

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The Development Partnerships established underEQUAL are producing promising results in manyfields, some of which are presented below. The firstround of EQUAL (started in 2001), has alreadydemonstrated new ways of tackling discrimination andinequality in the workplace. More information aboutEQUAL’s latest results and activities can be found at:http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/equal/activities/index_en.cfm.

DISABILITY

EQUAL is enhancing employment opportunities forpeople with disabilities through the combined deliveryof training and consultancy services targeted atemployers. For example EQUAL has developedservices in recruitment and selection, disabilityawareness training, environmental assessment toensure that the workplace is accessible, and advisoryservices on the financial incentives involved in hiringand retaining a person with a disability. EQUAL is alsotrying to make the reintegration process "demand-driven" rather than "supply-directed", which meansthat the individual with a disability should be"empowered" to become the lead actor in theprocess through the best possible development ofhis/her skills and knowledge.

AGE MANAGEMENT

Age management is one of the major social issues intoday’s Europe. EQUAL Development Partnershipshave taken a multidimensional approach to thischallenge, involving various tools and a number ofplayers.They aim to influence employers' attitudes toage,develop a working lifecycle perspective for humanresources, promote worker health and safety andlinks between generations, and mobilise allstakeholders.

EQUAL’s partnerships have already made a noticeableimpact in this field. They have determined that thegreatest source of motivation for older workers isrecognition by employers of their capacity tocontribute to solutions. Organising "coachingsessions" that allow workers to give their input and tocome up with their own ideas is one way thatcompanies can address this issue. Such sessions giveolder workers the opportunity to express theirknowledge, demonstrating to employers that they are"culture carriers" for the company.The question is notsolely one of engaging older workers in training.Theyalso need to be supported,made aware of the choicesavailable to them, and be given the opportunity tomove into new areas of work that fit their changingpriorities and make use of their skills and experience.

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HARVESTING THE RESULTS OF EQUAL ACTIVITIES

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BUSINESS START-UP BY UNEMPLOYED ORINACTIVE PERSONS

There is strong evidence that business finance is notgetting through to vulnerable groups and areas.However, improving the business start-up rate amongdisadvantaged and under-represented groups such aswomen or ethnic minorities may be a more cost-effective approach to moving people out ofunemployment and inactivity. EQUAL providesbusiness support to marginalised groups, enhancestheir entrepreneurial capacity and develops highquality support systems for all. EQUAL partnershipsgenerally concentrate on the human capital side of theequation in entrepreneurship, dealing with barriersboth in supply of finance (private and public financiers)and in demand (their possible clients). New methodsare being tested to transform informal economicactivities, often carried out by ethnic minorities ortravellers, into formal businesses, thus providingindividuals with skills, status, income and autonomy.EQUAL is working together with rotating fundsfinanced by other sources in order to build thefinancial capacity of community groups anddisadvantaged individuals.

HELPING EMPLOYERS PROMOTE DIVERSITY

Several Development Partnerships have found thatemployers are most convinced to promote diversityaction when fellow employers “testify” to the positiveeffects of diversity strategies on their business (e.g.with regard to conflict management and stressreduction, fluctuation and absenteeism, corporateimage and diversification of services). Such exchangeshave been facilitated by the setting up of awardsystems for “Equal Opportunity Employers”, theshowcasing of role models, the organisation ofemployers’ round tables at local level, and thedevelopment of local employer networks. There isalso positive experience of transferring good practiceand the use of role models provided by transnationalpartners.

GIVING INCLUSIVE ACCESS TO LEARNING

Another challenge being tackled by EQUAL is thepromotion of learning among those normallyexcluded from the formal learning environment.Access to learning is often restricted by time and lifepressures and a lack of experience of learning. Oneway to overcome these barriers is to use informationand communication technologies in innovativelocations, like supermarkets, to maximise uptake ofalternative learning techniques.

Individuals with low levels of basic skills and/or noqualifications face a number of barriers to accessingtraining and learning. EQUAL is enabling a range ofpartners - and new partnerships - to make adifference by working together in new ways in a localcontext.A range of municipalities have come togetherfor the first time to deliver an intermediate system ofeducation and training services tailored to theselearners.

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GENDER SEGREGATION IN SECTORS ANDOCCUPATIONS

By working with children and young people, EQUALis addressing both the role sharing and vocationalchoices of future generations, and challenging theprevailing attitudes of the current parent generation.Innovative curricula for primary and secondaryschools have been tested, which confront traditionalgender roles and the subtle integration of the relatedstereotypes into science and technology. Theseschemes use household processes, such as cooking,baking or ironing to explain certain phenomena inchemistry and physics. So far, they have encouragedfemale students to consider science as a possiblecareer choice and male students are learning to attachgreater value to household tasks.

SHARING OF CARE AND HOUSEHOLDRESPONSIBILITIES

A Dutch media campaign, “Men are taking the lead,”has been used to kickstart a national debate on theimportance of active fatherhood. Discussions werelaunched with massive media advertisements,supported by press conferences, an Internet site anda talk show (2x12 programmes). The first messagecommunicated through the TV commercialsconfronted men with the excuses they tend to maketo avoid taking up more responsibilities at home.

After a while, the strategy was fine-tuned andconcentrated on motivation and inspiration ratherthan provocation. The second wave of messagesaddressed the need for women to learn to let go oftheir “household and care monopoly” by recognisingthat men’s ways of caring for children or of managingthe household might be different to their own, butequally effective.

In cooperation with large companies in theNetherlands, non-governmental organisations and thecountry's top football team, EQUAL has also beenorganising activities to promote the benefits of fathersspending quality time with their kids. According to afinal impact analysis in May 2004, some 55% of theDutch population were aware of the campaign.Furthermore, 59% of the men and 52% of the womensurveyed were reported to be discussing the divisionof family tasks at least once a month as a result.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Small businesses do not have extensive humanresource structures. Consequently, approaches todiversity drawing on Corporate Social Responsibilitytend to be less attractive and less relevant to them.EQUAL is searching for new ways of motivating thissector of the economy to play an active role in theintegration of disadvantaged groups and differenttypes of action, such as supported employment andassistance from intermediary agents, are being tested.Positive results have been achieved through face-to-face contact with employers from small enterprises,and through providing sustainable support andservices (e.g. training programmes, mentoring, casemanagement and job profiling and matching) that helpbusinesses cope with issues related to theemployment of people with special needs.

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REINTEGRATION OF FORMER PRISONERSTO COMBAT EXCLUSION

EQUAL is assessing and validating the existing skills ofprisoners with the aim of feeding this experience intomainstream training and reintegration practices. Toooften ex-prisoners are left to their own devices oncereleased.With low self-esteem and often low levels ofeducation, their chances of finding a job are poor,withthe consequent risk of reoffending. Discrimination onthe labour market is rife, with many employersreluctant to hire an ex-prisoner. EQUAL’s partnershipis wide, including social partners, educationalinstitutes, public employment services, Ministries ofJustice and interest groups. Efforts are not limited totraining, however, as the reintegration of ex-prisonersinto society is also essential.This process is enhancedby including the relevant institutions in thepartnership.

SOCIAL ECONOMY TO CREATE MOREJOBS AND ENHANCE THEIR QUALITY

EQUAL is testing the feasibility of franchising in thesocial economy. A small, social cooperativeoperating a hotel has been adopted as a businessmodel as a result of its economic success andsuccessful inclusion of disadvantaged workersthrough training in professional skills. EQUAL isenabling disadvantaged groups in other MemberStates to pilot this business idea and itsdevelopment process. The approach can also beextended into new business fields and could resultin a new European franchising structure owned bysocial economy actors at the end of theprogramme.

ASYLUM SEEKERS

The inclusion of the asylum seekers theme in EQUALhas enabled greater understanding of the ways inwhich national policies affect this group’s access to thelabour market, education and training. At local level,the work of partnerships has demonstrated thebenefits of a range of support options for asylumseekers, from access to language training andvoluntary work to employment in the open market.EQUAL provides a good opportunity for the MemberStates to work together in identifying good practicerelating to the social and vocational integration ofasylum seekers. It benefits from the adoption ofDirectives related to the Common Asylum SeekersPolicy,which allows activities to be focused exclusivelyon asylum seekers, rather than those benefiting fromother forms of protection.

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TO GET IN TOUCH

Although the two EQUAL calls for proposals havealready taken place (in 2001 and 2004), DevelopmentPartnerships will still be actively implementing theirwork programmes up to 2008.

Overcoming discrimination, inequality and disad-vantage requires the commitment of everybody andthere are several ways to support EQUAL in its work.You could find out which Development Partnershipsexist in your area and check how you couldcontribute to their work. This could includeparticipating in events and networks, sharingprofessional skills and experience, or helping to gainmedia coverage. You could also support EQUAL'swork by ensuring that the lessons learnt from theDevelopment Partnerships are integrated into widerpolicy through lobbying, writing about their work, andspeaking about them at relevant events.

EQUAL activities are happening all around the EU.They are usually coordinated by the national Ministryof Employment.You can obtain further information onnational EQUAL activities by consulting the addressesand websites of the relevant national body below.Updated information can be found:

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In the European Commission:

DG Employment, Social Affairs and

Equal Opportunities

ESF - B/4

B - 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

Tel.: +(32) 2 296 98 85

Fax: +(32) 2 296 97 70

http://europa.eu.int/comm/equal

empl-equal-info@cec.eu.int

Information, results and guides on many European-level mainstreaming and coordination activities canbe found on the EQUAL website. If you have anyfurther EQUAL-related queries, you are invited toaddress them to the above mentioned e-mailaddress.

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IN THE MEMBER STATES:

BELGIËMinisterie van de Vlaamse GemeenschapEWBL - Afdeling Europa WerkgelegenheidMarkiesstraat 1B-1000 BrusselTel.: +(32) 2 546 22 40 Fax: +(32) 2 546 22 21www.equal.beinfo@equal.be

BELGIQUE Agence FSEChaussée de Charleroi, 111B-1060 BruxellesTel.: +(32) 2 234 39 44 Fax: +(32) 2 234 39 96www.fse.beinfo.equal@fse.be

CESKÁ REPUBLIKAMinistry of Labour and Social AffairsKartouzská 4CZ-15000, Prague 5Tel.: +(420) 257 19 61 11Fax: +(420) 224 92 18 83www.equalcr.czesf@mpsv.cz

DANMARK Erhvervs- og BoligstyrelsenDahlerups PakhusLangelinie Allé 17DK-2100 KobenhavnTel.: +(45) 3546 60 00Fax: +(45) 3546 60 01www.socialfonden.dkcl@ebst.dk

DEUTSCHLAND Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und ArbeitReferat XB3Villemombler Str. 76D-53123 BonnTel.: +(49) 228 615-3558Fax: +(49) 228 615-1209www.equal-de.deequal@bmwa.bund.de

EESTIMinistry of Social AffairsLabour Market DepartmentGonsiori 29EE-15027 TallinnTel.: +(372) 626 9301Fax: +(372) 626 2209www.tta.ee/equalinfo@sm.ee

ELLÁDA Ministry of Labour and Social AffairsSecretariat General for the Managment of European FundsManaging Authority of the Community Initiative EQUAL23-25 Agisilaou Str.GR-10436 AthensTel.: +(30) 210 52 71 300Fax: +(30) 210 52 71 322www.equal-greece.grEqual@mou.gr

ESPAÑAMinisterio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales - U.A.F.S.E.Pío Baroja, 6E-28009 MadridTel.: +(34) 91 363 18 ext. 13/18/16Fax: +(34) 91 363 20 30www.mtas.es/uafse/equalEqual@mtas.es

FRANCEMinistère des Affaires sociales,du Travail et de la SolidaritéDGEFP - Departement du Fonds Social7, square Max HymansF-75741 Paris Cedex 15Tel.: +(33) 1 44 38 30 08Fax: +(33) 1 44 38 34 13www.equal-france.cominfo@racine.fr

IRELANDDepartment of Enterprise & EmploymentDavitt House, 65A Adelaide RoadDublin 2IrelandTel.: +(353) 1 631 33 35Fax: +(353) 1 631 32 36www.equal-ci.ieinfo@equal-ci.ie

ITALIAMinistero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali UCOFPLVia Fornovo, 8I-00192 RomaTel.: +(39) 06 3675-4328, 3675-4349Fax: +(39) 06 3675-5025www.equalitalia.itassistenza@equalitalia.it

LUXEMBOURGMinistère du Travail26, rue ZitheL-2939 LuxembourgTel.: +(352) 478 61 12Fax: +(352) 478 63 25www.mt.etat.lu contact@fse.public.lu

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KYPROSPlanning BureauApellis & P. Nirvanas streetAyioi Omoloyites1409 NicosiaCyprusTel.: +(357) 2 30 44 04Fax: +(357) 2 66 68 10www.planning.gov.cyplanning@cytanet.com.cy

LATVIJAMinistry of WelfareSkolas street 28LV-1331 RigaTel.: +(371) 702 16 00Fax: +(371) 727 64 45www.lm.gov.lvlm@lm.gov.lv

LIETUVAMinistry of Social Security and LabourA.Vivulskio 11LT-2693 VilniusTel.: +(370) 526 64 260Fax: +(370) 526 64 209www.socmin.ltpost@socmin.lt

MAGYARORSZÃGMinistry of Employment and LabourHRDOP and EQUAL MAAlkotmány utca 3H-1054 BudapestTel.: +(36) 1 473 81 00 Fax: +(36) 1 354 3911www.equalhungary.huequal@ofa.hu

MALTAOffice of the Prime MinisterPlanning and Priorities Co-ordination DirectorateAuberge de CastelleValletta - CMR 02MaltaTel.: +(356) 21 25 50 28Fax: +(356) 21 23 07 81www.ppcd.gov.mtinfo@msp.gov.mt

NEDERLANDMinisterie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid – AfdelingEuropese Subsidiemaatregelen (AM/ESM)Postbus 908012509 LV Den HaagNetherlandsTel.: +(31) 70 333 5823/4140Fax: +(31) 70 333 40 06www.agentschap.szw.nlEqual@Agentschapszw.nl

ÖSTERREICHBundesministerium für Wirtschaft und ArbeitAbteilung 11/9 - Europäischer SozialfondsStubenring 1A-1010 WienTel.: +(43) 1 711 00 22 58Fax: +(43) 1 711 00 60 49www.equal-esf.atoffice@equal-esf.at

POLSKAMinisterstwo Gospodarki i Pracyul. Zurawia 4aPL-00-955 WarszawaTel.: +(48) 22 693 47 42Fax: +(48) 22 693 40 71www.equal.org.plequal@cofund.org.pl

PORTUGALGabinete de Gestão EQUALAv. da República 62 - 7°P-1050 197 LisboaTel.: +(351) 21 799 49 30Fax: +(351) 21 793 39 20www.equal.ptequal@equal.pt

SLOVENIJAMinistry of Labour, Family and social AffairsKotnikova 5SI-1000 LjubljanaTel.: +(386) 1 478 34 50Fax: +(386) 1 478 34 56www.gov.si/mddsz/zaposlovanje/equal.htminfo-equal.mddsz@gov.si

SLOVENSKOMinistry of Labour, Social Affairs and FamilyESF sectionSpitálska 4 – 6SK-816 43 BratislavaTel.: +(421) 2 5975 2413Fax: +(421) 2 5292 1258www.employment.gov.skisp@employment.gov.sk

SUOMIMinistry of LabourP.O. Box 34FIN-00023 Government, FinlandTel.: +(358) 9 160 492 36Fax: +(358) 9 160 492 34www.esr.fitommi.nordberg@mol.fi

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SVERIGESwedish ESF CouncilBox 47141S 10074 StockholmTel.: +(46) 8 579 171 00Fax: +(46) 8 579 171 01www.esf.seequal@esf.se

UK - GREAT BRITAINDepartment for Work and PensionsESF DivisionMoorfoot - Level N2S1 4PQ SheffieldUnited KingdomTel.: +(44) 114 267 73 03Fax: +(44) 114 267 72 89/85www.equal.ecotec.co.ukequal@ecotec.co.uk

UK – NORTHERN IRELANDEuropean UnitDepartment for Employment and Learning (DEL)Adelaide House, 39/49 Adelaide St.BT2 8FD BelfastUnited KingdomTel.: +(44) 28 90 25 78 74Fax: +(44) 28 90 25 76 46www.proteus-ni.org equal@proteus-ni.org

European Commission

EQUAL, Free Movement of Good Ideas

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities

2004 — 21 pp. — 21 x 29.7 cm

ISBN 92-894-7001-1

Employment social affairs

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European Commission

9 789289 470018 >

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, Free Movement of Good IdeasWorking against discriminationand inequality in Europe

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