INTERVIEW: Spotlight on promoting equality in Denmark
Equinet: Ms. Nour Magnusson, your organisation has been a founding member of Equinet. Can you tell us a bit about the history of your office and its involvement in our network?
Susanne Nour Magnusson:In 2003 the Danish Institute for Human Rights was appointed as Denmark’s national equality body competent on the grounds of race and ethnicity. Having this new role we found that a network to facilitate cooperation and exchange of knowledge between the European national equality bodies was important. So we were indeed a founding member and have from the start been involved and supported the building of the important European network that Equinet has become.
In 2011 we had our mandate extended to also cover gender equality, so we are happy that Equinet has recently strengthened its work on this ground. In that same year we were also given the role as Denmark’s Independent Mechanism to Promote, Protect and Monitor the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Equinet: What do you consider being the main Equinet activity or initiative that your organisation benefits from?
Susanne Nour Magnusson:Both the working groups and the trainings as very beneficial. We are active in Equinet’s working groups on Gender Equality, Policy Formation, Equality Law in Practice and Communication Strategies and Practices and I find them to be important for exchanging ideas and learning among European equality bodies. I consider the Equinet trainings as an important and integrated element of our competence development.