As part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen anti-discrimination policies in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership regions, an online workshop was organised to advance anti racism initiatives across these regions.
A key highlight of this workshop was the presentation of findings from a comparative study on the state of anti-racism policies in EU acceding Beneficiaries, calling for additional work to ensure coordination mechanisms and political drive in this area, as well as for enhanced efforts to ensure awareness of civil servants and of the society as a whole, notably when it comes to addressing racism against the Roma community. The draft comparative study will be used by the authorities in the region to guide reforms at national level and facilitate concrete actions.
In addition, the updated Council of Europe ECRI/EU course "Combating Racism and Racial Discrimination" will be made available soon through the Council of Europe online platform. The updated version of this online course on combating racism and discrimination, is a result of the feedback provided during the previous workshop/meeting held in Strasbourg in July. The online course will be adapted in local languages to the benefit of all regional project beneficiaries, with a train the trainers’ course envisioned in 2025.
This event is organised within the action "Promoting equality and combating racism and intolerance in the Western Balkans" and the project "Promoting equality and non-discrimination: towards more resilient and inclusive societies", which are respectively parts of the European Union/Council of Europe joint programmes “Horizontal Facility III for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” and “Partnership for Good Governance”.
