Closing of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All

Under the motto “Celebrating 2007!” over 700 participants from all 30 countries involved with the European Year gathered in Lisbon on 19 and 20 November to close the Year with an official conference. The Closing Conference celebrated the effective implementation of the Year and looked back on the numerous diverse and enriching activities that took place across Europe.
It also provided a perfect opportunity to identify which of these activity programmes will be continued and therefore become the legacy of the Year in the future. The Conference was attended by national anti-discrimination and equality authorities, national social partners, national NGOs and also by a delegation of NGOs and social partners that operate EU-wide. Moreover, representatives of EU institutions joined the festivities. The day continued with panel discussions on diversity and equal opportunities and on the Year’s legacy. Day two kicked off with another panel discussion entitled „Paving the way towards equality for all”.
To wrap up the closing conference, the winners of the honorary awards were announced following a competition organised for the Year’s National Implementing Bodies during the conference. The aim of the competition was to present the most informative, interesting and awareness-raising initiatives created by the National Implementing Bodies of the participating countries over the course of the year. The prize for the best audiovisual entry went to Poland, the prize in the category of information material went to Portugal, the prize in the category for visual initiatives went to Belgium.