Journalist Award makes headlines in 2007

The fourth edition of the annual “For Diversity. Against Discrimination.” EU Journalist Award promises to be the biggest and best yet.  The award, launched this month, rewards the best articles published on diversity in an EU Member State and attracted more than 700 entries in 2006.

The 2007 award will be teamed with the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All and will feature a special award for an article that refers to one or more events organised as part of the Year, with special attention paid to entries dealing with the issue of multiple discrimination. The competition is open to journalists from all 27 EU member states, who are invited to submit print or online articles about discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability or sexual orientation. Entries for the special EYEO award can also deal with discrimination on the grounds of gender.

Entries can be written in any of the 23 official EU languages and must have been published between 1st January and 30th September 2007, which is the deadline for submissions. National juries of media professionals and anti-discrimination experts will select 27 national winners who will go into the running for the EU award, to be chosen by a pan-EU jury. The winner, two runners-up and special award winner will share in €12,000 worth of grants for research trips to EU countries of their choice.

To find out more about the EU Journalist Award, click here.

Stay tuned as well for the unveiling of the 2006 award winners, which will take place in April this year.

Diversity is business as usual in Danish workplaces

The Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) recently launched Denmark’s fourth annual MIA Award, recognising diversity in the country’s workplaces. MIA is the Danish acronym for “Diversity in the Workplace” and the prize goes to public and private employers of all sizes that have taken special steps to promote diversity and equal opportunities. According to DIHR, more and more Danish companies are making diversity a key resource in their everyday work, to the benefit of customers, clients, investors and employees.

“The MIA Award is our way of telling the stories of these forerunners in diversity and equal opportunities,” said DIHR’s executive director Morten Kjaerum. He said it was important for companies to see the MIA Award as a chance to promote themselves and their experiences with diversity.

Acting on behalf of DIHR, Danish Crown Princess Mary handed over the 2005 MIA Award to science centre Experimentarium.

“It inspires others to do the same. Of course all cannot win. But then again our experience from previous years tells us that that the process of running in the competition is a rewarding experience in itself. It’s really a great opportunity for companies and workplaces to evaluate their work with diversity, whether they win or not,” Mr Kjaerum said. Danish companies can join the competition via the award homepage www.miapris.dk.

The website also contains more information in English about the award and DIHR’s work with diversity and equal opportunities, which is supported by the EU. The MIA Award ceremony will be held on April 27th in Copenhagen.

Plan your European Year of Equal Opportunities for All

The European Year of Equal Opportunities for All kicked off in January and there is a busy schedule of events planned throughout 2007. There’s no better way to keep track of these than ordering a 2007 Wall Calendar featuring posters that promote equality and celebrate diversity.

The calendar contains the winning entry and 11 other finalist entries from the 2006 “Breaking Stereotypes” poster competition. The competition invited art and design students from across the EU to produce attractive designs that promoted diversity. The winners were selected by a panel of prominent experts in the field of design and communication.

Stop-Discrimination distributed 100 free calendars to the first newsletter readers who had replied. For more information on the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, please click here.

Stop-Discrimination welcomes Bulgarian and Romanian readers

The www.stop-disrimination.info website would like to welcome citizens from the two newest EU Member States, Romania and Bulgaria, to its expanding family.  Readers from the two countries, which became members of the EU in January this year, can now access a wealth of information on diversity issues in their own languages.

The majority of pages on the website have been translated into Romanian and Bulgarian and selected new content will be available in these two languages. This will bring the amount of language sections of the website to 22.

Click here to access Bulgarian content on the website, and here to access Romanian content.

Welcome once again Romania and Bulgaria!

Introducing our national partners in Malta: Malta Employers’ Association

The Malta Employers' Association brings together employers from all sectors of industry and commerce in Malta. It is effectively a trade union of employers dedicated to the promotion of healthy industrial relations. The association provides its members with a range of advisory services enabling them to be better informed about their obligations towards, and the rights of, their employees.

The Union of Employers was founded on March 17th, 1958, under the presidency of Mr Anthony Miceli Farrugia. It merged with the Malta Employers' Confederation on December 1st, 1965, to form the Malta Employers' Association, otherwise known as the MEA.

The principal intention of the association's formation was the regulation of relations between employers, workers and trade unions. While paying due attention to the interests of the wider community, the association is obligated to attempt to influence the formation of policies beneficial to its members, at a national level. These policies include those that encourage enterprise; create economic and social conditions for the growth and competitiveness of Maltese business, while also being in the general interests of employers; and develop productive employment.

As an employers’ body, the MEA is proactive and at the forefront of lobbying in favour of employers’ interests. It seeks to promote social dialogue as well as unity of purpose among its members in a modern pro-business climate, with optimum relations between employers and their employees, as well as between individual employers.

The MEA's Charlotte Camilleri said the organisation condemned any form of discrimination and urged its members not to discriminate between employees. "It was therefore considered necessary to form part of, and contribute fully to, the (“For Diversity. Against Discrimination) campaign," she said.

To read more about our national partners in Malta, please click here.