RKI provides trainings and guidance on equality planning for youth workers in Finland. Youth work is a space where all young people should be respected, safe and have possibilities to learn. It is crucial that youth work is open for all and place where a young person feels seen and heard.
Making a participatory equality plan helps a youth work provider (e.g. youth department of municipality or youth organization) have a common understanding and concrete measures to make sure that youth work spaces are safe for all where no one is discriminated by their sex, gender, age, origin, nationality, language, religion, belief, opinion, political activity, organizational activity, family, health, different ability, sexual orientation, or any other personal reason. However, equality is not only about tackling discrimination, it demands active procedures on strategically working towards more equal youth work practices.
The concrete actions written in equality plan should be thought through in specific context and recognize and meet the specific needs of the youth work in chosen specific setting. Moreover, the actual form of the equality plan can be whatever fits your purposes best. It can be a document, a visual yearly plan, a comic stripe or a series of workshops.
Even though equality planning takes up resources, it benefits everyone. One might think there are no people belonging to minorities in their surroundings, even though many factors of belonging to a minority are not visible in regular interaction. It is not enough to technically let everyone in, but paths need to be created for those who find it’s difficult to enter. Moreover, working towards equality helps reduce social and psychological conflicts, creating a better environment for everyone.