Anti-discrimination

Anti-discrimination is a core element of the Youth in Action Programme. The Programme should be accessible to all young people without any form of discrimination on grounds of gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability or sexual orientation.

Equality between women and men

Equality between women and men was strengthened in the Treaty of Amsterdam and is one of the priorities for developing employment in the European Union. All Member States have decided to include the principle of equality between women and men (or ‘gender equality‘) in all policies and actions at European level, particularly in the fields of education and culture.

The Youth in Action Programme aims at reaching an equal number of male and female participants, not only globally, but also within each sub-Action. At Programme structures level, this means that appropriate measures should be taken, as much as possible, to stimulate the interest and participation of the less represented gender in each sub-Action.

Furthermore, the Youth in Action Programme aims at stimulating the thematic coverage of gender equality in projects. Promoters may either set up projects focusing on a theme directly linked to gender equality (for instance: stereotypes, reproductive health, gender-based violence, etc.) or adopt a mainstreaming approach by including a gender equality dimension in all the projects they organise, whatever the main theme may be.