CoFoE: Civic Society Criticises Lack of Inclusivity and Diversity
Brussels/Bratislava, December 7 (TASR-correspondent) – Representatives of civic society have raised concerns over a lack of inclusivity and diversity in the Conference of the Future of Europe (CoFoE), claiming that the conference is at risk of failure if member states do not follow citizens’ proposals, Euroactiv news website reported on Monday.
“In terms of our assessment of the Digital Platform, we want to refer to the accessibility audit commissioned by the European Disability Forum, pointing at the flaws of the platform that make it inaccessible for many people with disabilities,” said Maarten de Groot, member of the ECI Campaign and Alfiaz Vaiya, Co-Founder of Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice.
Others told Euroactiv that the platform should be more inclusive for ethnic minorities and those with disabilities. They also said the gender gap registered in the multilingual platform is concerning for the conference’s outcome.
On behalf of European Alternatives, Niccolò Milanese expressed similar concerns about minorities’ inclusion, noting that the random selection of panellists actually risks excluding many of Europe’s most marginalised.
“Non-binary people and EU residents without EU passports seem to be excluded entirely, and no quota is set for racialised and other marginalised communities. We believe that marginalised people should be at the centre of the conference on the Future of Europe and be a priority in the discussions”.
