- The Catalan Minister for Equality and Feminisms, Tània Verge, took part in an international conference in Flanders on inclusion and migration policies
- Verge presented the government's plan against racism, a package of 70 measures to transform all levels of society
The Minister for Equality and Feminisms, Tània Verge Mestre, is participating today and tomorrow in the international conference "The integration of Newcomers by EU member states," organised by the government of Flanders in Mechelen, within the framework of the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU. During this conference, Verge spoke about the Catalan Government's pioneering policies in the field of anti-racism to guarantee the inclusion of migrants in Catalonia.
In the session on "Role of host societies in integration," the Minister highlighted the importance of inclusion policies as a guarantee of human rights for all individuals and or creating fair societies. "For this reason, inclusion policies must not only be aimed at migrants, but also at the societies and institutions that implement them," said Verge.
To develop successful inclusion policies, the minister said that the participation of governments like that of Catalonia is essential since "we are the institutions closest to the citizens. Having us on board is the only option if we genuinely want to design integration policies that contribute to building more cohesive societies”.
In this regard, the minister presented the action plan against racism at the conference in Flanders, which was adopted by the Government in 2023, comprising 70 measures involving all the departments of the executive branch and a budget of 28.5 million euros. A plan that aims to "tackle institutional, social and structural racism," Tània Verge said.
The seventy measures included in the document have a very clear objective: to improve the lives of all individuals with equality of rights and opportunities in their daily lives, without any form of discrimination. Ensuring equitable access to rights such as healthcare, housing, and employment, transforming the administrations to ensure exemplary action, and working on the memory and reparation of systemic racism are the key components upon which the action plan is structured.
"If the host population is not involved in inclusion, the policies will not be effective"
Racism is the most reported form of discrimination in Catalonia, as Minister Verge pointed out. According to data from the Office for Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination, a pioneering institution in Spain, this discrimination accounts for 28% of complaints.
For this very reason, the minister pointed out the need to involve the host population in the inclusion process to ensure that policies are effective. Specifically, she stated that "policies aimed at raising awareness of the existence of racism, as well as those related to the democratic memory of current expressions of racism, are an important area of action in which the host population must be involved for inclusion to be successful”.
The Minister of Equality and Feminisms highlighted actions carried out by the Government through the plan in this regard, such as the collection of data on various types of discrimination through a large-scale survey, policies related to memory and reparation, and increased diversity on public television in Catalonia.