Multiple discrimination and intersection: Experience and opportunities
Conference21 October 2009, 05:00 PM | Grand Hotel Union, Ljubljana
We would kindly like to invite you to attend an international conference which will take place on 21 October 2009, from 9.00 – 17.00, in Grand Hotel Union in Ljubljana, Miklošičeva 1.The conference aims to address the issue of multiple and intersectional discrimination as specific forms of discrimination. Discrimination namely rarely occurs only on the basis of one personal ground, but can be provoked due to two or more personal grounds at the same time. Each of us has a certain age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, social and family status, or also disability or health condition. At times multiple personal grounds may be a reason for differential treatment of people in comparison to others. On the other hand there are laws, policies and programs that address only one personal ground at the time – let’s just think of various state bodies in Slovenia which deal specifically with ethnicity, religion, disability and gender – but rarely they take into account the fact that personal grounds can be intertwined.
The aim of the conference is to address this gap, in cooperation with the representatives of foreign, international and domestic non-governmental organizations that deal with discrimination on the basis of one or more personal grounds. At the conference we will present research results on multiple and intersectional discrimination in Slovenia; we will familiarize ourselves with forms of multiple and intersectional discrimination occurring in the United Kingdom; what forms of this type of discrimination are suffered by Roma Europe-wide; and how the non-governmental organizations address special needs of people exposed to multiple and intersectional discrimination. We will also try to identify opportunities to address the area of multiple and intersectional discrimination in Slovenia.
This conference is organized within the project titled “Progressing towards Equality (PROTECT) – An Intersectional Approach to Discrimination”, supported by the European Commission (Program Progress) and Open Society Institute. The project is coordinated by the Peace Institute and implemented in cooperation with project partners Association Information Centre Legebitra, Legal Informational Centre for Non-Governmental Organizations – PIC, YHD – Association for Theory and Culture of Handicap and Association for Development of Voluntary Work Novo mesto. Numerous activities have been implemented within the project, including research analysis, focus groups and seminars, trainings for judges, preparation of a website on multiple discrimination, and – the most noted one – an awareness raising campaign titled “When are you going to run out of glue?” (“Kdaj ti bo zmanjkalo lepila?”). The posters which show a man and a woman, covered with white stickers on which various stereotypes are written, raise awareness on the problem of discriminatory tagging of people on the basis of personal grounds and encourage the by-passers to re-think such tagging. Posters will be distributed at the conference.
Participation at the conference is free of charge. Simultaneous translation into Slovenian and English will be arranged. Refreshments will be offered during the breaks. Travel costs for participants from outside Ljubljana will be reimbursed in the amount of public transportation. Please register for the conference by Monday, 19 October 2009 by writing to neza.kogovsek@mirovni-institut.si or by phone, number 01/ 234 77 33.
